Rewound - Visions
by MaBre85
Summary: Would you have made the same decisions in life, if you would've been able to see glimpses of your future? In 2008 the 13 years old Max suddenly starts having intense visions, showing her what will happen to Chloe if she leaves for Seattle. Now she's faced with a huge decision: Give in to her fate and leave, or stay and take care of her best friend.
1. Chapter 1: Gone

**Author's Notes:  
**

 **And heeeere is my third story for LiS. I think that this one is gonna be a huge project, since I'm planning to rewrite the whole 5 years before the events in LiS. Yup, I'm that f***ing insane in my brain! ;-)**

 **Truth be told, I had this idea while I was thinking about an end for 'The Third Option' and figured that a real story ending isn't that easy, because life goes on until death, which would be, regarding to Chloe and Max, at least 60 years. Uhm, no thanks. So I figured, it would be more interesting to know how everything would've developed if Max would've made different decisions during the last 5 years before this fateful week. Of course I had to to give her a reason to make these different decisions and I think visions are a very good tool, because they can be misinterpreted.**

 **This first chapter is indeed short, but you can see it as a small teaser or prologue. I'll try to add a new chapter once a month, but I can't promise anything. Although, 'The Third Option' is almost finished now, I still have to write 'Martial Max' which is maybe halfway through, plus I got a lot of other high-priority stuff going on in my life (family, work etc.), but who hasn't?**

 **To all the hardcore-fans who're already yelling at their screens that I left out that Future-Max visited this very scene and influenced it: No, I haven't forgotten this event. But since this story is based on the 'The Third Option'-AU, Max never interfered in this timeline, because the whole events of the game never happened.**

 **As always, reviews, constructive criticism and ideas are appreciated.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Gone**

 _A Storm. Destruction. Chloe. A Hurricane. The Lighthouse. Chloe with blue hair. My Polaroid camera. Chloe, a bit older. The Storm again. A kiss. A strange man, grinning devilish. Arcadia Bay in ruins. A junkyard. Love. Darkness._

Max woke up with a start, bathed in sweat, breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest. She buried her head in her hands, because it's aching, every part of her body ached like a train had just run over her. ' _Wowser, what a nightmare!_ ' she thought, reaching for her camera. The girl held it in front of her face, pointing the lens towards her face and made a photo; her daily morning-selfie. The cam whirred as the instant picture came out. Max looked at it with distaste. ' _Great, now I've got it officially that I look like shit._ '

She stretched all her limbs, let out a big yawn and got up, feeling all dizzy and groggy. ' _Damn, no horror-movie nights with Chloe anymore. Too much junk food and jump scares are a bad combination for me._ ' The girl walked over to her mirror in the corner of her bedroom with insecure steps and looked at her reflection. A skinny, 13-year old girl with freckles and brown, messy hair, resting on her shoulder, dressed in a white tee and pajama shorts looked back at her. ' _Same old me. But I should cut my hair down again. Chloe suggested I should wear it longer, but it sucks styling it every morning. I loved my generic Bob; easy to cut; easy to maintain._ '

"Maxiiine, breakfast's ready!"

Max rolled with her eyes as she heard the voice of her mother, chiming through the house. She hated it when she used her full name. "It's Max, never Maxine." she spoke to herself. Letting out another yawn, she grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom. After undressing herself, she looked into the mirror again, letting out a big sigh. ' _Still all flatlands up here._ ' she thought and her mind jumped to Chloe, her best - and sadly only - friend and captain. ' _Chloe's only one year older and her boobs started to grow two years ago._ ' Max envied Chloe. Envied her for her body – all athletic and tall, showing already some curves; her smartness – she's a straight-A-student and doesn't need to learn for tests; her courage – she always protected her against bullies; and her face, her beautiful face – almond shaped, deep blue eyes and always a mockery smile on the lips.

"Maxine, your breakfast gets cold!"

"Max! Just Max." she said to herself with gritted teeth. "Comiiing!" she answered her mom and entered the shower, washing away the sweat and thoughts from last night's nightmare.

After Max finished showering and got dressed, she ran downstairs towards the kitchen and sat down at the dining table, where her father's already reading his newspaper. "Morning!" Max said in a happy voice.

Ryan Caulfield looks over the paper and gives his daughter a big smile. "Morning Max!" he said with is deep voice, a smile emerging from his beard.

Max opens a can of orange juice and pours some in her glass, as her mom – Vanessa Caulfield – comes over to her, a platter full with ham and eggs in her hand and puts it in front of her daughter. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Had a good night sleep?" she said, ruffling through the girl's hair.

' _At least she didn't call me Maxine again._ ' Max thought, shook her head and said "Nightmares, mostly."

Vanessa put one hand to her hip. "You watched horror-movies with Chloe again, didn't you?" Her voice was reproachful. Max bowed her head, looking at her hands. "Dammit, Maxine. Why do you always listen to this girl?"

"She's my friend." was her answer. "And it's Max."

Her mother sighs. "No, your name is Maxine! Look at your birth certificate."

"Vanessa, you're getting late for work." Ryan's voice chimed behind his newspaper. Max's mom looked at her watch and cursed silently, storming out of the kitchen. It was Saturday, but Vanessa worked at the hospital as a nurse and had to do the weekend shift. The wall of paper dropped again and Max looked at her father, who was winking at her with a sheepishly smile. He knew that his daughter didn't need an argument about Chloe in the morning. Max smiled at him. "Are you already excited about moving to Seattle?" he continued.

Max nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait to get there and do my first shots! Art galleries, the Space Needle…it's gonna be so cool!" She gets more and more excited and the smile of her father grows even wider. He knew he'd made the right decision, taking the job in Seattle. All he wanted is his baby-girl to be happy. "Have you already told Chloe?"

Suddenly Max's heart dropped to her feet and her smile vanished in an instant upon the unpleasant topic her dad suddenly brought up. ' _I know, I planned to tell Chloe weeks ago, but I never got the courage._ ' She shook her head.

"But you know that we're moving in two weeks?"

Max nods. "I-I wanted to tell her, but…" she sighed and got even sadder.

Ryan put his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "Max, I know this is going to be hard for you two and god knows it is even harder for you to tell her that you're leaving, but she deserves to know it. Tell her, maybe she will be sad at first, but she'll understand eventually."

Max looked into is brown eyes and smiled again, thankful for his support. "I'll tell her today, promised!" He nodded. "By the way, can I sleep at Chloe's tonight?"

Ryan laughed. "You're almost living there, why do you still ask?" And then nodded again.

After Max finished her breakfast, she packed some clothes, said goodbye to her mom and dad and headed towards Chloe's house, two streets away.

* * *

Max arrived at the Price's house some minutes later. Chloe's dad, William Price, started to paint it blue some months ago. But due to his job, he hasn't finished it yet.

The brunette heads towards the door and opens it. As soon as she had entered her best friend's home the lovely smell and warm atmosphere embraced her. Even though she's not at home it felt like her own. She looked down the corridor and her gaze fixed on a 14-year old girl with almond-shaped, deep blue eyes and long strawberry-blonde hair, bound into a ponytail.

Chloe Price smiled at her best friend warmly as soon as she saw her. She instantly ran toward Max and gave her a long and big hug. She was taller than Max and so the smaller girl needed to tip toe to get her arms around Chloe's neck and lay her head on her shoulder. "I missed you so much!" she whispered in her ear.

"Missed you too, Chlo!" the brunette answered.

Enjoying her closeness, Max took a deep breath, inhaling Chloe's smell. A warm feeling emerged inside of her; a feeling she never noticed before and surprised her. But before giving it a deeper thought, William Price came out of the kitchen to greet her daughter's friend.

"Well, well. If it isn't Max Caulfield! Haven't seen you for some hours now. Got lost?" he joked with a wink.

Chloe and Max separate. "Hi, Will!" Max answered.

"Da-ad, can Max stay overnight?" Chloe asked with a sweet voice.

William smiled at them both. "As if you have to ask. I even planned to give her our guestroom permanently and adopt her."

Both girls giggled.

"Hey Max, wanna play some Mario Kart?" Chloe asked her friend.

Max shrugged. "I don't know; you're always better than me."

"C'mon, I even play with one eye closed. Promised!"

Smiling impishly at her, Max shrugged. "You don't have to, 'cause today you're going down!"

Both girls ran into the living room and started to play.

"Now I've gotcha, hippie!" Chloe said, hammering the buttons on her controller.

"Ha, missed, dork!" Max answered, while evading the green turtle shell, which Chloe tried to shoot at her Kart in order to prevent her from winning the race. _'Today Max is gonna be the winner!'_ The finish line in sight, Max's joy grew even more, adrenalin rushed through her body. _'Just one last turn aaand…'_

Suddenly a whole lot of images appeared in front of Max. _A crashed car. Chloe and Joyce at a funeral. Chloe with blue, short hairs. The Price's house decayed, not well maintained as it is now._ The images repeated themselves over and over again; spinning in Max's head, which started to ache.

"Max? Max?"

Max blinked and the TV, showing the game, came back into her gaze. Her Kart continued driving against a wall; Max still held the button for acceleration. Soon a text appeared on the screen, telling her that she lost the race.

"Max, are you okay?" Chloe asked with concern in her voice.

"Wh-what…what happened?" Max asked with confusion. _'That was intense. Like my dream last night. These images were so real, like they were some sort of memories.'_

"You were about to win and then you completely zoned out and crashed against the wall."

The brunette thought about telling Chloe about her daydream. But decided against it and gave Chloe a sad face. "Well, looks like I'm not destined to win in Mario Kart."

Now Chloe hugged her beloved friend. "Don't worry, Max. At least you're a great friend and photographer and that means more to me than winning a stupid game."

"Chloe, Max. Can you help me preparing lunch?" William said to the girls and they headed for the kitchen.

Seeing Chloe and her dad together, making jokes and working side by side, always put a smile on Max's face. ' _They both are so adorable. A perfect family._ ' The blonde girl suddenly hugs Max. "Say cheeeeeese!" she chimed and both gave William a big smile as he took a shot with his Instant-Camera. "That's a keeper." he said, looking at the photo.

Some moments later Joyce called, telling William that she needed a lift with some groceries. After he left, Chloe and Max were alone. The perfect timing for the smaller girl to tell her friend about the move to Seattle.

Max sat on the armrest of the couch, while Chloe set at the table, reading one of her magazines. "Uhm…Chloe?" Max started, her voice trembling with nervousness.

"What is it, Maxi?" she responded.

"I…uh…I need to tell you something." she continued, playing with her fingers while looking at them. She couldn't bring up the courage to look Chloe into the eyes. ' _C'mon Max, don't chicken out, just tell her. As dad said, she'll understand._ ' "Some…Something came up with my dad's job and…"

Suddenly the phone chimes again. "Hold that thought." Chloe said and jumped to the telephone. "Price residence, your faithful Chloe's speaking." she answered with a joyful voice, expecting it to be her dad, telling his daughter that he and Joyce will be late, because he wanted another mocha.

But instead of happy chatter or some jokes, only silence occurred, making Max, who still worked on the right words to tell Chloe the future separation from her, to look at her best friend. What she saw startled her. Chloe leaned against the wall; her face was pale and grimaced by emotional pain. Streams of tears were running down her cheeks. She dropped the telephone, and slid down until she sat on the floor, her face buried in her hands. She cried out loud, screaming all the agony from her soul.

Instantly Max rushed to her friend and hugged her, eyes watery. She never saw her best friend in so much pain; so devastated. "Oh my god! Chloe, what happened?"

"Dad…my dad…he's…he's gone! My dad is fucking gone!" she cried out between the sobs.

Her words pierced through Max's heart. She hugged Chloe even more and joined Chloe's crying, lacking words. Everything else became unimportant. This day happiness, joy, jokes and the dream of a perfect family vanished from the Price's house.


	2. Chapter 2: Doubts

**Chapter 2: Doubts**

Max had called her parents as soon as she was able to speak again. Both arrived half an hour later at the Price's house. Chloe hadn't stopped crying since, what was way over an hour now. The brunette girl tried to comfort her friend, but the blonde girl kept on shedding tears. Vanessa called a doctor from the hospital, who is specialized in trauma therapy.

As soon as Dr. Mortensen, an older man with white hair and a trimmed beard, arrived, he took care of Chloe, who Max and the doctor brought upstairs in her room. Some minutes later the freckled girl came back down and sat down on a chair, new tears in her eyes and deep in thoughts. She thought about the daydream she had two hours ago. Focusing on the pictures she saw, especially the one with the crashed car, she tried to bring some sense into them. And the longer she focused on these images, the clearer they became; more detailed. ' _The crashed car was William's. The funeral; Joyce and Chloe in the front row, a picture on the coffin, William's picture. Oh my god. It all came true. I saw the future. And I did nothing._ '

Becoming aware of the truth, Max started to cry again, burying her face in her hands. ' _Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I'd just told you…_ '

Dr. Mortensen came back downstairs. "How is she?" Vanessa asked with a worried voice.

The doctor rubs the bridge between his eyes. "I gave her I mild sedative. She's asleep for now. Sadly, the incident seems to have traumatized the poor girl."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Max asked.

"Probably, however it is unpredictable if she'll fully recover from this. What she needs now is rest and a lot of support from her friends and family."

Hearing those words, Max's heart fell to her feet. ' _How can I be a support for her, if I'm moving to Seattle? Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry._ ' She knew that Chloe had no other friend besides her. And her family? Joyce was her only family and who knows how she's doing right now.

Just in this moment the door opened and Joyce entered the house. Her eyes red from crying, her face still wet from all the shed tears. Vanessa walked right towards her and hugged Joyce, both crying. "Oh Joyce, I'm so sorry. How could this happen?"

Joyce tried to focus in order to regain control over her voice. "A drunken driver of a truck ran over a red light, hitting the left side of the car. The police…" She sobbed and took a deep breath again. "…the police said that he was killed instantly. No chance of survival." Vanessa hugged her again. "Where's Chloe?" Joyce asked, clearly worried.

Max's mom introduced Dr. Mortensen, who gave her a brief report, regarding her condition. He also gave her his calling card, if Chloe's condition shouldn't change or become worse, and then took his leave.

The Caulfields stayed the rest of the day at the Price's house, trying to help and comforting Chloe and Joyce. While Joyce tried to stay strong the whole time, Chloe completely shut herself in. Max tried to speak with her whenever she was awake, but got no response. The silence continued for the next days, until William's funeral, 5 days later.

After the funeral, Chloe had her next breakdown. Max stayed at her side the whole time, comforted her; took care of her. During this whole time she thought about the inevitable move to Seattle 6 days later. ' _I can't do this! I need to be at her side. She's my first priority, my best friend, my lo…_ ' Suddenly Max stopped her train of thought, due to sudden feelings she never had before. ' _Where did that come from? I never thought about her that way. What is happening to me?_ ' She looked at Chloe, who was lying beside her, still asleep. Max stretched her hand out and combed a streak out of her beautiful face, but withdraws it as her blonde friend moved.

Suddenly Max's head started to ache again. The pain caused her nausea and dizziness. Holding her head with two hands, eyes closed, new images flashed in front of her gaze. _Images of herself, happy in Seattle._ The headaches got stronger, almost unbearable. She groaned. Images of Chloe appeared. _She's sad, depressed, smoking, lying in her own blood._

As fast as the pain appeared, it vanished again. Max opened her eyes, breathing heavily. Black spots were dancing in her sight. ' _Wowser, this was much worse than before._ ' A warm stream of blood ran from her nose over her lips, dripping on her hand. She startled upon seeing the red fluid on her hand, but instantly took out a tissue to wipe her nose. ' _Okay, Max. Focus. Last time you saw this weird stuff, it showed you William's death. Maybe the images will give you some information about future events._ '

Closing her eyes again, she brought the images back into her mind. ' _The first images were about me. I'm in Seattle. I see the Space Needle, Rainier Mountain, and the Seattle Skyline. I seem to be happy, at least, I feel happy seeing these images. Strange. Okay, the images about Chloe next. She has a blue streak in her hair and looks a bit older. She looks super sad, like depressed and… Smokes?! A bong! She's taking drugs!_ ' The last image appears and a deep grief embraced her heart. Her eyes are welling up with tears as she opens them again and gazed at her friend, still lying in front of her. ' _I-I saw her die. Does this mean that this all will happen to her, while I'm all happy in Seattle?_ ' Again, her hand reached for Chloe's face, but stopped a few inches before touching it. ' _I can't leave her!_ _I need to talk with my parents!_ '

* * *

Usually Vanessa expected her daughter home at 6 pm, except sleepovers. However, since William's accident she didn't mind that Max got home a bit later. She knew, Maxine took care of Chloe and needed her time.

The small brunette arrived around 6:30. Her mom had already finished making dinner and her dad sat on the set dining table. Although, she spent the whole day with Chloe, she was in a sad mood, slightly depressed. Her mother served the meal and the family started eating, although Max was merely stabbing her steak with her fork; she wasn't very hungry, just thinking about her last daydream.

"How was your day, honey?" her mom asked with some worry in her voice.

"Fine." she answered monotonously. Her gaze still locked on her full plate.

"How's Chloe?"

Now looking at her mom with a sad face, Max answered. "Still the same. She just lies in her bed; cries and stares into empty space; not speaking."

"That poor girl!"

For the next minutes, the Caulfields continued eating in silence, until Ryan spoke. "So, have you packed all your stuff into the card boxes?"

Maxine nodded. "Almost."

"Still excited about Seattle?" he asked with a smile, trying to lighten up her mood. But Max just stayed silent; her expression darkened even more. Her dad realized it. "What's bothering you, kiddo?"

Max just shrugged. ' _C'mon Max, ask them. Now's the chance. Be strong, for Chloe!_ ' She sighed, her gaze still on her plate. "Mom, dad. I…uh…I don't wanna move to Seattle anymore. I-I want to stay here, with Chloe."

Ryan just raised an eyebrow, but her mother dropped her fork and looked sharply at her. "What?! Are you kidding?"

The small brunette startled due to her strict answer, but nodded. Ryan put his hand on Vanessa's arm to calm her down and took over. "Max, we know that this is a very bad timing, but it isn't that simple, you know?"

Now Max raised her head and looked at her parents, slightly agitated. "Why? Just cancel the move. We stay here, in this house, in Arcadia Bay."

Her mother took over again, in a calm voice. "Listen Maxine, we can't just cancel everything, because you want it to be this way or because of second guesses. I'm sorry for Chloe, but you have to see the big picture here. Your father already took the new job. If he backs out, he'll be unemployed. We invested a large amount of money into my new business, filled out and filed in all documents. If we undo this, we would lose all the money and the bureaucratic effort would be a nightmare. Additionally, we already sold the house and bought a new one in Seattle. We would have to sell it under value, losing a lot of money again. Let alone the company for the move."

"Your mom has some points there. Canceling the whole stuff would nearly bankrupt us. Sorry, kiddo, but we need to pull this through." Max's dad added.

Max jumped up from her chair, now even angrier. "That's not fair! Not for me and especially not for Chloe. She doesn't deserve to lose two important people in her life in such a short time!"

Now her mother stood up, too, yelling at her. "Maxine, what is wrong with you? A week ago you were head over heels moving to Seattle and now you want us to cancel everything?" Her gaze on the girl got even sharper. "Was it Chloe again? Has she told you to do this?"

Mentioning her best friend's name and assuming that she told Max to rebel against her parents, although she hasn't spoken since the accident, is so unfair and made Max even more furious. "Leave Chloe out of this, mom! Yes, she's the reason, but she's not the one behind this, that's one hundred percent me." Her eyes started to well up. "Every time I mess up you blame Chloe, making her a bad person who poisons me. This is so wrong and fucked up!"

"Max, language!" Ryan said with a stern voice.

"I want to stay here, because I have the feeling that she needs me!"

"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, always Chloe." Vanessa rolled with her eyes in annoyance and throws her hands up in the air. "Don't you see that she has you under her control? And what is about us? About our wishes? You know that your dad worked very hard to get this job. And I always dreamt about my own business. Is Chloe really more important to you than our dreams; the dreams of your parents?"

The brunette knew that she had lost the argument. Some tears flew down her cheeks. ' _They're right. How could I ignore their wishes and dreams? Oh Chloe, I'm sorry. I'm…I..._ ' The image of her dying friend reappeared in front of her eyes. New courage grew inside of her. ' _NO! I won't leave her, sorry mom and dad._ ' And then she nodded.

"You're kidding, right?" Vanessa asked with a huff. "Max, get up to your room and stay there. And from today on, you're forbidden to visit Chloe."

Shocked, the brunette looked at her mom. "What?!"

She crossed her arms. "You heard me Maxine, now go up to your room!"

Max's lower lip started to shiver; new tears welled up in her eyes. "Fuck you!" She turned around and started walking towards the stairs, but gazed over her shoulder once more, yelling at her mom. "And it's Max, never Maxine!" As Max reached her room, she slammed the door shut with a loud BANG, ignoring her mother's yelling downstairs. ' _They can't keep us apart, Chloe. I'll find a way. WE will find a way!_ ' With these thoughts she started to cry, until sleep embraced her.

* * *

The next morning Max snuck out of the house and headed for Chloe's. All the way she thought about what to say to her, worried how her friend might react. Before entering the house, she took a minute to take a deep breath. ' _Okay Max, this is it. Now don't chicken out!_ '

Slowly she opened the door. Joyce was in the kitchen, making some breakfast. She gave the brunette girl a warm smile. "Morning, dear! Want some breakfast?"

Max hugged her. "Morning, Joyce! Yeah, I'm starving."

"That I believe. There is no time for some food, if you want to avoid your parents and sneak out of the house." She said with a wink and Max startled. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. I won't tell Vanessa. Had a little fight, huh?" Nodding silently, Max took a pancake and ate it eagerly. "Y'know, I'm glad that you stick to Chloe. Although your mom is not a bad person, she can sometimes be a real bitch…but don't tell her that." Max shook her head with a grin and grubbed in the next pancake. "Well, Chloe's upstairs, as always. Can you bring her some pancakes? I need to get going."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Joyce. You're the best." The young girl said, smiling warmly and hugging Chloe's mom again.

"Don't mention it. You two belong together and just because you get in some shenanigans, it's not necessary to separate you two. Now, take good care of my Chloe, I'll cover you, if your mom gives you a hard time." With these words said, Joyce left the house and Max walked upstairs towards Chloe's room. One last deep breath and she opened the door.

Chloe wasn't in her bed. She sat at her desk, looking out of the window. She turned around as her best friend entered the room, smiling warmly, joy in her deep blue eyes.

Max stood in the door, merely shocked to see Chloe smiling. The older girl jumped to her feet and gave Max a big hug, pressing her tight. The smaller girl dropped the breakfast to the ground and wrapped her arms around Chloe's back, hugging her equally. A small sob of joy escaped her mouth.

Both girls separated again. Their eyes met and they looked at each other for some time. Max felt the urge to hug her some more. In her stomach flew butterflies, airplanes and other stuff that flies around. But before Max could say or do anything, Chloe broke the gaze and looked down. "Was that for me?"

Looking at the broken plate and scattered pancakes on the floor she mumbled. "Sorry."

"Don't be, I was the one who hugged the shit out of you." She said with a smirk, giving her smaller friend a little push. "By the way, mom's pancakes are unbeatable, even if they're lying on the ground."

Chloe picked up her breakfast, brought it to her desk and started eating it. Max sat down on the bed and looked at her, very deep in thoughts. ' _This is it Max, tell her now. What?! She's up and happy and you want to destroy it again? No, but she needs to know. You should've told her months ago! I know, but it happened. You're such a chicken shit! Not anymore, I'll tell her now!_ '

"Max, are you okay?" Chloe snipped her fingers in front of her friend's face.

Max blinked. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. Just zoned out a bit."

The blonde chuckled. "That's my Max. Always in the zone."

The brunette girl tried to fake a smile, but failed. Took a deep breath and started. "Uhm…Chloe. I-I need to tell you something. I tried to do so for some time now, b-but I always backed out, because I feared your reaction." Chloe looked deep into Max's doe eyes and as the brunette tried to find worries or fear in her friend's eyes, she just saw anticipation and a sparkle, like she was expecting something. Something she waited quite some time now. "My…my parents…and I …are moving to Seattle." Max could see that the sparkle in Chloe's eyes vanished in an instant and was replaced by sadness and unbelief.

"What? When? Why?"

"In 5 days…"

Max expected that Chloe would start to cry or even break down, but instead anger dwelled inside her eyes; anger in a form she never saw before. She yelled. "5 DAYS! 5 FUCKING DAYS! And you're telling me now? Are you fucking shitting me?"

Obviously surprised by the rage of the blonde, Max stayed silent, looking on the floor.

Chloe stood up and pointed with her finger to the door. "Get out!"

The small girl now looked at her and saw pure hate and anger in her friends face. Her voice shivered. "B-but…"

"Get…the fuck…out!"

"Chloe, I…"

"GET OUT! And never come back again!"

These last words cracked Max's heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and flew down her cheeks as she walked out of Chloe's room; the door got slammed shut behind her. Max buried her face in her hands and cried. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm so sorry!"

"Fuck off, Max!"

' _C'mon Max, you have to tell her everything. Don't give up yet. If you leave, you'll lose her forever._ ' A glimpse of new courage built up inside of her. "Chloe, I'm so sorry that I haven't told you earlier. That wasn't right, and I know it. But there's some more I need to tell you. Please, hear me out!"

The door opened a bit. "You have one minute. One…fucking…minute!"

' _That's a good sign; she hasn't given up on you yet!_ ' "Thank you, Chlo."

"Now only 55 seconds."

"Okay. The thing is I don't want to leave you. I don't want to move to Seattle anymore."

"Anymore? So you wanted to move?"

"Yes…I mean no…I mean…"

"You're not doing so well. 30 seconds."

' _Here it goes Max, everything or nothing._ ' "Yes, I wanted to move, because Seattle is a Mecca for art. But I always felt terrible by the thought of leaving you here and yesterday I had some sort of…of…ugh…I don't know what it was, but I have the feeling that if I leave you here, you're going to die."

The door opens a bit more. Max sees Chloe's stinging blue eyes in the gap. "I'm going to die, if you move to Seattle?" said Chloe, her voice full of doubts and unbelief. The brunette just nods and suddenly the door's slammed shut again, right into her face. "Nice try, but I'll manage without you. Time's up. Good bye, Max."

"Chloe, wait!" New desperation crawled inside of Max. She turned around, almost ready to accept her defeat and leave the house. ' _Dammit, why is she always so stubborn? Think, Max, think._ ' Reaching for her heart, the brunette girl forms her feelings for Chloe into words. "Remember that I looked after you the whole time while you were grieving; never left your side? I've always been at your side, even when we were in trouble. Chloe, you're my best friend and I…I really care for you and…and I have a really bad feeling that something might happen to you." She sobs as the image of her dying friend appeared again. "I couldn't take it, if some harm would come to you, because I…I…" Her words were eaten by the following sobs.

Arms embraced her from behind to comfort her. Chloe's shivering voice whispered in her ear. "I believe you. Thanks Max, I appreciate that you always care for me and that you stood by my side the whole time. Sorry for yelling at you."

Max turned around and hugged Chloe, squeezing her as close as possible. She felt her body, the warmth it radiated; enjoyed her smell. After some minutes, both girls separated and went into Chloe's room again, sitting down on Chloe's bed.

"So, you really want to stay here?" Chloe asked. Max just nodded again. "Are your parents okay with it?"

Max shook her head; new tears were forming as she told her friend about yesterday's fight with her mom. "They'll never gonna let me stay in Arcadia Bay."

The blonde girl puts her arm around Max's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out."

Withdrawing from her embrace, Max stood up and walked around the room. "And how?" She sounded desperate. "How can WE stop this, Chlo? We can't just move out and get an apartment of our own."

Hearing these words, Chloe started to grin mischievously. "Actually, we kinda can." Earning a puzzled expression from Max, she continues. "Maximus, I have an idea…"


	3. Chapter 3: Pirates of Arcadia Bay

**Chapter 3: Pirates of Arcadia Bay**

Max slung her heavy backpack on her back, groaning silently as the weight almost threw her off-balance. She opened the door of her room quietly, being cautious that she didn't make any sound. The young girl took one last glimpse at her room. It was almost completely empty, besides some card boxes and the matrass she had been sleeping on for the last few nights. Her bed was already in Seattle, along with most of the other belongings of the Caulfield family. ' _Good bye, my faithful room! I'm gonna miss you!_ ' she thought with some sadness, because Max knew that she'll never see it again.

In her old room, the streetlights had given her enough brightness to see where she was going, but after she'd closed the door complete darkness embraced her. Max got her phone out of her pocket and activated the flashlight. She startled and stopped in her tracks as she realized that the door to her parent's room stood a bit open, but luckily everything stayed quiet. Exhaling softly, Max continued her way down the stairs to the front door and left the house. ' _I'm sorry, but you left me no other choice._ '

The last days, Max had tried to convince her parents in letting her stay in Arcadia Bay, multiple times, but all efforts failed. Her mom and dad had been adamant, so that Max eventually agreed to Chloe's plan.

She turned off the flashlight and looked at the display of her phone. It was 4 am. Whole Arcadia Bay was still in deep slumber. Max zipped close her outdoor jacket in order to keep the cold air from her small body away. Then she started to write a message.

 _Max: On my way._

A few moments later it was replied.

 _Chloe: waiting 4 u at the rendezvous point_

After 10 minutes of walk, Max reached the edge of the forest that surrounded Arcadia Bay. She expected Chloe to be already there, but there was only perfect silence and darkness. "Chloe?" the small girl spoke into the night in a low voice, but received no answer. Fear embraced her heart, making her shiver. ' _What if she got caught by her mom? What if something happened to her? What if…_ '

"GOTCHA!" Chloe yelled while jumping out of a near bush, before her friend could even finish her thoughts. Max shrieked as she's completely scared, landing on her butt. Almost hyperventilating, tears started to flow from the freckled girl's eyes. "Hey Maxi, are you alright?" the blonde girl, dressed in a thick weather jacket, blue jeans and a beanie on her head, asked with concern, trying to help her up.

"YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!" Max yelled and started to sob.

"Max, I-I'm sorry. I didn't…" the taller girl tried to explain, but Max let her backpack fall, stood up and walked away, still crying. Chloe followed, caught up with her and as soon as she reached her, she embraced her in a tight hug, whispering in her ear. "I'm sorry, Max. I'm so, so sorry! Please forgive me! Please stay with me!"

After some time Max's sobs became less frequent until they stopped entirely. "I won't leave you, even though you're a giant asshole!" she muffled in her friend's shoulder.

"Thanks Maxi!" Chloe answered, hugging her even stronger. After some time, the blonde girl broke the hug and smiled at her friend wryly. "Ready to bail?"

Max nodded. "Mh-hm. But please, no jump scares anymore."

"Agreed."

Both girls grabbed their stuff and headed right into the forest. They hiked for nearly an hour as Max took off her backpack and sat down, leaned against a tree, panting heavily. The first light of the new day could be seen in the sky, but the forest was still dark. "Chloe wait! I…I need a break."

Chloe turned around, looking at the younger girl. "C'mon, we're almost there, slowpoke!"

"I know, but I'm not used to carry 15 pounds on my back while wandering through the woods in complete darkness. I already tripped over 3 roots and my back is killing me."

Sighing, Chloe took off her backpack too and let herself drop beside her friend, taking out a bottle of water. "Here, take a sip!" she said with a smile.

Max nodded in appreciation and took the water. "Thanks Chlo!"

"Hey, are you okay?" Chloe asked, giving the freckled girl a soft nudge with her elbow.

"Actually…I don't know. I mean, I'm happy that we're together and do this, but on the other hand…" Max looks at her hands, clearly feeling guilty. "…I feel sorry for my parents."

Chloe mustered her best friend with a firm expression. "I know." Then she focused her gaze at a point in front of her. "I feel sorry for my mom, too. First she loses my dad and now…" Max looked at her and saw a tear running down her cheek. She tried to touch her arm, but as soon as her fingers touched the fabric of her jacket, Chloe stood up, shouldering her backpack again. She wipes away the tear with the back of her hand. "We should keep moving. Here, I'll help you with your stuff." she said, grabbing Max's backpack and started to carry it on her front. The brunette's gaze just followed her, until she sighed, stood up and continued to walk.

Ten minutes later they arrived at a small clearing on which's edge a big tree with a treehouse on it was; the Pirate Fortress. Chloe got there first, put their backpacks down and climbed up the ladder. She let down a rope that was slung through a pulley. "Yo Max, hook on our packs!" Max did what her friend asked her to do and after a few moments their baggage was high up in the treehouse. Now Max climbed up too and as she reached the trapdoor and peeked into the house, she was greeted with a wooden sword, pointed at her nose, and Chloe's stern expression. "Oi matey, who dares entering my ship without my permission?"

"Requesting permission to come aboard, captain!" the freckled girl said with a wry smile.

"Permission granted, First Mate Caulfield" Chloe answered, sheathing the sword.

Max continued her way up until she stood inside of the treehouse. It was very spacy. In one corner lied an old mattress, packed in a plastic foil to protect it from the clammy air of the forest. Also, there was antique chest, filled with their pirate stuff, as well as little shelf with old junk that they'd found in the surrounding forest, even an ancient spear tip was part of their treasures.

With a loud thud the trap door was closed by Chloe. "Well, it's not like a real apartment, but it will suffice." She walks over to her backpack and starts to unpack it. "Okay, here we have our old gas cooker, so we'll always have a warm meal. I hope you brought the food, First Mate!"

"Check!" the smaller girl answered, revealing the instant food from her backpack.

"And here…" She pulled out a bottle. "…we have something for boring evenings."

Max eyes grew wide. "Your mom's wine?!"

"Yup. Our last wine-tasting-session was interrupted; therefore we have to continue it and now you're old enough. You're in?"

At first reluctant about it, Max remembered that she never got the chance to taste some wine. ' _One sip won't kill me_.' she thought with some insecurity, but then put on a mischievous smile. "Definitely!"

"Alright! Can't wait to see you drunk!" Chloe cheered and puts the bottle to the other stuff..

"You wish, dork!"

"Well, the rest is some entertainment and clothes. Hope, you bought some of that stuff too."

"Why do you think my backpack weighed 15 pounds? Let's see…" Max started to rummage through her backpack. "Here we have some books, my IPod, some games and, of course, clothes." she said, bringing forth a piece of fabric, realizing too late that it was a pink pantie with _'My Little Pony'_ on it. Chloe burst out into loud laughter while Max's face turned deep-red. "Sh-shut up! A lot of my stuff is already in Seattle."

"Yeah…right…Seattle." The blonde girl spoke between her laughter, while her friend retreated into a corner of the treehouse and pouted. Chloe embraced her in a hug from behind. "Hey, c'mon. Don't sulk on me. You know that I have the same underwear."

"Yeah, but you probably left it at home, hidden in a dark corner of your closet."

Suddenly another ' _My Little Pony_ ' pantie wagged in front of Max. "Nope. See, I got it right here." Max turned around to face the taller girl, her expression clearly puzzled. Chloe just shrugged. "Most of my other undies were dirty; laundry day, y'know; so, I had to pack everything that was left."

A wry smile rushed over the brunette's face as she gave her friend a slight push. "Dork!"

"Okay, enough with the pantie-contest, let's get serious. The forecast said that it will rain a lot the next days, so we have to fix the roof and the windows. A shitload of work, but we should be done in a few hours." Chloe bound her long hair into a ponytail, opened the ancient chest and brought forth some tools and wood. "Thankfully we're well equipped. I'll take care of the roof and you'll take over the windows." Max nodded and both girls begun to work.

* * *

 _Dear Journal, I know that I used to call you diary, but not anymore, because, for me, a diary is something where people write their secrets and childish dreams in. And that just doesn't fit anymore. From now on you'll be my journal; a log for my now complicated life. A life that has changed completely during those last two weeks. William's death, Chloe's breakdown, my visions (or whatever I should call them) and the problems that followed in their wake. *insert groan here* I guess, I just don't belief in dreams anymore (especially when they show me my best friend's death) and therefor I need something to write down my thoughts and the ongoing events, nothing more. I know, strong words for a 13-year-old girl, but maybe it means that it's time for me to grow up or something._

 _First of all, I don't regret that I'm standing up for Chloe and want to stay at her side. But I start to regret that she convinced me to run away. Sure, it sounded kinda cool to live in our treehouse together like we own an apartment. And we actually had a lot of fun playing pirates, enjoying nature (I made some pretty cool shots), just being together and continuing our wine-tasting-session (personal reminder: I don't understand why grown-ups drink this stuff. It's just…so…yuck! And Chloe isn't that funny when she's drunk, because I had to hold her hair the entire time while she puked out of the window…yuck squared!)._

 _Sadly, as soon as reality caught up to us, everything just sucked! It's been pouring cats and dogs for two days straight now, our food is almost gone, my back kills me because of the shitty mattress and on top of it I feel like crap: headaches, nausea and a buttload of nightmares. The thing is I don't know how to tell Chloe that I want to go home. She's actually happy again. She smiles, laughs, mocks me at least once an hour; she's just my old Chloe again and I don't want to lose her, not again! You see journal? I'm just 13 and I have to deal with such shitty decisions._

 _At least my visions haven't occurred again. Maybe they stopped, because my actions already changed everything. I'm just hoping so, because I couldn't stand it if something might happen to Chloe._

 _And here comes my next grown-up-problem: my feelings for Chloe. Since the day of my first vision my feelings for her have changed. I mean, yes, there always was a deep bond between us, but now there's more, but I can't put a finger on it. It's just a strange feeling; a feeling I've never felt before. Maybe the latest events just brought us closer together and activated some sort of protective-mode or something. Well, I guess time will tell me more. No, I hope it will!_

 _So far, oh dear journal, Chloe wants my undivided attention, so, Max Caulfield, signing off._

* * *

"Maaaax! Booooring!"

"Then why didn't you bring more books 'n stuff?" Max asked calmly, while she's sitting in the corner of the treehouse, still focused on her journal.

"Because it would've made my pack even heavier." Chloe, who laid on the mattress, gazing at the ceiling, answered.

Now Max looked at her friend, one eyebrow raised. "But you had to bring your skateboard, even though there's no possibility to skate here?"

"Yeah, haven't thought that through."

The brunette scoffed, shook her head and closed the cap of her pen. "Okay, Miss Pain-in-the-butt, how can I entertain you?"

"That would be CAPTAIN Pain-in-the-butt and I'd like to play a game."

"Alright. So, what do you have in mind?" Max asked with a shrug.

With a big grin on her face and her eyes glistening with anticipation, Chloe shot up into a sitting position. "Let's play Truth-or-Dare!"

Max blushed a bit, while her eyes were widening in surprise. She knew about this game; about its reputation of being kinky. "Wh-what?! I-isn't this more of a party game or something?"

"Yeah, actually a slumber party game, and coincidently we're having a slumber party…well, kinda." the strawberry-blonde girl said with a shrug, now giving Max her puppy eyes look. "C'mon Maxi, pretty please!"

' _I've never played this game before. But I heard that everyone always takes truth and then they're asked stupid, sexual questions or have to spill their secrets. Ugh, at least it's just Chloe. She knows almost all of my secrets and I trust her to keep them to herself, sooo…ugh, what the heck._ ' she thought and gulped down her nervousness. "O-okay."

A big impishly grin formed on Chloe's lips. "Hell yeah!" she cheered, patting the empty space on the mattress beside her to give Max the hint to sit down there. The smaller girl moved slowly towards her, holding her head with one hand because of the emerging pain, after standing up. She sat down and Chloe looked into her blue doe eyes deeply. "Okay Maxi, truth or dare?"

"Uh…tr-truth?"

Chloe arcs one eyebrow. "Hey, I asked you, not the other way around. So, truth yay or nay?" Max just nodded. "Okay, here it comes. Do you still have your _Power-Rangers-underwear_?"

' _Okay, that wasn't a kinky question; maybe embarrassing in front of other people, but in front of Chloe…_ ' Max thought, exhaling in relief and building up some confidence. "Yup, still got 'em. But luckily they're already in Seattle. Your turn; truth or dare?"

"Truth it is."

"Are you happy right now?"

Chloe looked at her friend in surprise, at first lacking an answer. "Uhm…Maxi, you know that the purpose of this game is to ask such an embarrassing question or dare so that the other person refuses to answer and you win? But besides from that, yes, I'm very happy right now."

Max averted her friend's deep-blue eyes. "Sorry." she muttered. "Can I try again?"

"Of course…" Chloe spoke, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "When it's your turn again. So, truth or dare?"

The small smile that had been growing on Max's face vanished instantly and the brunette just gave Chloe a plain "Truth." as an answer.

With a mischievously grin, accompanied by a seductive tone, Chloe asked her next question. "Does my little girl here has a crush on someone?"

Max's face started to burn as it turns deep-red. ' _Holy crapers, it happened. The whole thing turned kinky. Why is Chloe so interested in my love life? Not that I have one. How should I know if I have a crush on someone? I don't even know how it feels to have a crush. Ugh. No, ugh tenfold!_ ' Her mouth was dry and it was hard for the younger girl to find the right words. "I…uhm…actually, I don't know."

As Max tried to look into Chloe's eyes she just saw unbelief. "You don't know?"

"I-I mean, I d-don't know how it feels to have a crush."

"Well, that's easy. You ever felt butterflies flying around in your stomach and stuff?"

' _Butterflies in my stomach!_ ' Max thought, gasping internally as she remembered her feelings for her best friend. ' _What is going on with me?_ '

"Hellooo? Earth to Max, please respond!" Chloe said with a worried voice, flicking her fingers in front of the freckled girl's face.

Max locked eyes with her blonde friend; both were looking at each other for some time. ' _Do I really have a crush on Chloe? No, it can't be. There has to be another reason! But I need more time to think about it. I need to end this game, before Chloe's able to ask more questions._ ' "My turn, right?" she spoke, in order to change the topic. "Truth or dare, Chlo?"

Chloe leaned a bit forward, almost nose-to-nose with Max, grinning again. "Y'know, let's put up the ante. Dare!"

"What?!" was everything Max could say.

"You heard me. Now, don't go soft on me!"

Max sat there for some time, thinking about something that Chloe would never do, but nothing came to mind.

"C'mon, Maxi! Or else I'll die of old age."

' _I dare you to kiss me._ ' a strange voice whispered in her head, softly. And before she even knew what happened she spoke it out loud. "I dare you to kiss me."

Totally taken aback, Chloe almost fell on her back, but could hold herself before doing so. "A-alright…I'm…uh…" the blonde stuttered and gulped.

Max felt that Chloe was completely nervous, but it was nothing in comparison to the freckled girl herself. Her heart was racing. A thousand thoughts ran through her brain at the same time. She still couldn't belief that she just did that. Chloe shoved herself closer to her friend, ready to hold the dare. Max remained stiff as a plank as her friend's lips came closer and closer. Everything moved in slow motion. The sound of the rain faded into complete silence. She could feel Chloe's hot breath on her face; could smell her scent, which made her heart beaten even faster and brought her on the brink of hyperventilation. Max pursed her lips like Chloe did, ready for the contact, as suddenly a faraway sound pierced into her ear. ' _Did someone just call my name?_ '

The freckled girl backed away a bit, trying to focus on every sound. But there was nothing, just the rain, drumming on the roof of their treehouse.

Chloe, still just a few inches from the brunettes face away, started to grin. "What is it, Caulfield? Chicken out on your own dare?" she mocked.

"Shhh!" Max shushed her. ' _There it was again._ '

Chloe backed away, giving Max a sour expression. "What the fuck, Max? Don't shush me!"

The brunette girl gave her a serious glare. "Just shut it, Chlo! Are you hearing someone out there, calling our names?"

Both girls remained silent for some moments, until Chloe gave her friend a hurt look and stood up. "Listen, if you don't wanna kiss me, fine. But don't be such a sore loser and make up such bull…"

"Chloe Price! Maxine Caulfield!" a male voice not that far away could be clearly heard through the rain.

Again, the girls glanced at each other in shock. "Shit, the fuzz! They're searching for us!" Chloe said, starting to pack their stuff. "C'mon Maxi, we need to bail or they'll deliver us right to our parents. Maxi?" The taller girl gazed at her Max, who was still sitting on the ground, not moving one limp. "Hey, what's wrong? We need to hurry or else…"

Max shook her head. "No, Chloe. I won't run anymore."

"What? Are you fucking crazy?!" Chloe rushed to the younger girl, pulling her to her feet, looking directly into her eyes. "We need to go, now!"

But Max held her gaze, shaking her head. "Chlo, look at me. Do I look okay? I'm cold, everything is clammy, my head hurts like hell and I think I'm coming down with a fever." Max sighs. "Chloe, I can't do this anymore. We can't do this anymore. We're running out of food. And if I'm getting sick, we won't have any medication. Chloe, belief me, this was a great experience; I enjoyed every minute, but we need to go home now!"

At first Max thought that she could see something like reason in her best friend's eyes, but it instantly changed into anger. "NO!" Chloe yelled, walking up and down the treehouse, some tears flowing down her cheeks. "I won't quit. I don't want to quit. This is our only chance; we can do it!"

Grabbing her arm, Max stopped Chloe in her tracks. "Chlo, this was just a dream; a cool dream, but still a dream. I wished it would've worked, but…" she said, brushing with her hand over Chloe's cheek, wiping away some tears. "Chloe, please. We need to face reality and make a stand!"

Suddenly Chloe embraced Max into tight hug. Her whole body shook as she started to sob. "I just don't wanna lose you, Max. You're my one and only friend and I need you!"

Max broke the hug and gave the taller girl a warm smile. "I know and I need you too. Chloe, I promise you that I will fight for us until the end!" Chloe nodded, finally realizing that her friend was right. "C'mon, let's go home and give our parents a fight they'll never forget!"

Both girls packed their backpacks and climbed down the treehouse, just to stand in front of a police officer. "This is Officer Berry, I found them." he spoke into his radio.


	4. Chapter 4: Farewell

**Chapter 4: Farewell**

They'd almost reached the edge of the woods and it was still raining cats and dogs. Officer Berry had taken Max's backpack, because the small girl was too exhausted to carry it on her own.

' _My head is killing me. I feel so miserable; so weak._ ' she thought. "Chloe, c-can you hold me?" Max asked her friend with a soft tone.

Chloe gave her a warm smile and embraced her body in order to support her. "Sure thing Maximus, we're almost there." she told her with a soothing voice.

"Why did you two run away in the first place?" Officer Berry asked, looking at the two girls.

"Because her parents suck." was Chloe's plain answer.

"But you know that they're worried sick about you two?" the policeman continued.

Now the blonde girl shot him an evil glare. "Dude, stop going all guilt-trip on us! We had our reasons, end of story. Now mind your own fucking business!"

"Chloe! He's a police-officer." Max blurted out, gazing at her friend in shock.

But the policeman just chuckled. "Belief me, Maxine, I heard a lot worse from kids of your age. And I'm not here to interrogate you, so if you don't want to tell then don't. I was just curious."

Finally they'd passed the last trees and were standing on an empty parking lot with just a single police car standing there.

"Okay girls, get in. I'll drive you home." said Berry and put their backpacks in the trunk, while the two girls seated themselves in the back of the car.

' _Wowser, I've never seen a police car from the inside. Hopefully it will be a once-in-a-lifetime-experience._ ' Max thought, until suddenly a new wave of pain emerged from her head. ' _Dammit, in this state I won't be able to have an argument with my parents. Maybe Officer Berry has some Aspirin._ ' "Mr. Berry, sir, do you have some Aspirin?"

"Nope, but I got some Ibuprofen." He rummaged through the clove compartment and came forth with a white plastic bottle. "Here, but take only one!" the Officer said, handing her the pills.

"Thanks!" Max answered with a smile and gulped down a pill with a sip of water.

Chloe gazed at her with a worried expression. "Pardon my French, but you look like shit, Maxi."

"Thanks for the compliment, dork." she responded, giving the blonde a shove with her shoulder. "I'm also feeling like shit."

The older girl embraced Max's shoulders and pulled her closer. "C'mon Maxi, rest for a minute."

Max took the offer thankfully and laid her head on her friend's shoulder, closed her eyes and cuddled herself even closer with a sigh. "Thanks Chlo!" she said, enjoying the warmth and closeness with a smile on her lips. For her, it felt like she's in heaven.

* * *

The police car came to a halt in front of the Price's house. Officer Berry opened the back seat doors and got the backpacks out of the trunk.

Both girls grabbed their stuff and headed for the entrance, which was opened rapidly and a very furious Vanessa Caulfield came out. "You two are in big trouble!" she yelled. Ryan and Joyce followed her stat.

' _Ugh, and here we go. Thankfully the pill already kicked in._ ' Max thought and sighed. "Mom…" she began, but was instantly interrupted as Vanessa pulled her into a tight hug and began to cry in relief, almost hurting her daughter with her grip.

"Oh my baby-girl, I was worried sick about you." Vanessa said between the sobs.

Chloe laid one hand on Max's shoulder with a wry smile. "Nothing to worry about, Vanessa. I was with her all the time." she tried to calm down Max's mom.

But the brunette woman shot her the most evil glare Max has ever seen. Her red cried eyes were piercing daggers. "YOU!" she yelled at the blonde girl and pushed her away so that she landed on her butt. "STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"

Max broke the hug with her mom. "Chloe!" she gasped and helped her friend up.

"What's your fucking problem, bitch?" Chloe spoke to Vanessa with an angry voice, about to jump at her, but Max held her back.

"What did you just call me?" Vanessa asked, clearly surprised by the aggression and the insult.

"Vanessa Mary-Ann Caulfield, if you ever touch my daughter again, I'm gonna slap you silly!" Joyce's agitated voice chimes from behind as she closed in.

"Way to go, mom!" the blonde girl cheered.

"Don't get cocky, missy." she continued. "You're in for some huge trouble, too!"

"Maybe you should've taught your daughter not to be such a brat, then nothing like this would've happened." Max's mom said, now shooting in on Joyce.

Max watched the whole scene in horror, trying to calm down her mom. "Mom, please…" she pleaded.

"You stupid…" Joyce was about to return, her fists already clenched; ready to throw a punch at Vanessa.

"Everybody calm down!" Ryan intervened with a loud but still calm voice, stepping between the two women. "We agreed to do this peacefully. This means no yelling, no insulting and no physical violence! And this counts for everyone, especially you, Chloe! Now, can we please go inside and talk about this whole situation like adults?"

For a moment a heavy silence hovered over the scenery, until Joyce and Vanessa nodded and started to head back inside. Ryan patted Max and Chloe reassuringly on the back. "Come on, you two." he said in a low and almost soothing voice, and both girls followed their moms. "Officer Berry, thank you for your help." he spoke to the police man, shaking his hand.

"No problem, Mr. Caulfield. That's my job. Have a good day, sir!" Berry said with a smile and went back to his car.

The girls sat down at the dining table in the living room; their moms already sitting on the opposite side. Ryan joined in by seating himself between the two women. He inhaled deeply to overcome the strong tension that was filling the room, before he started to speak. "Okay, first of all, we're very relieved that nothing happened to you two. But, we're also very disappointed. We thought that you were smarter than this."

"Especially you, Maxine!" Vanessa added, making her daughter lowering her gaze.

"Vanessa, darling, making our daughter feeling worse isn't the right way." he said, calming down his wife. Then he focused on the two girls again. "We probably know why you did this, but we want to hear it from the both of you. So, please tell us."

Chloe and Max looked at each other for a moment. They knew why they did it; why Max wanted to stay. But they also knew that telling their parents about Max's fear of Chloe's fate wouldn't help their case; it was just unbelievable. ' _And here comes the part I've always been afraid of: coming up with a good reason._ '

The brunette girl licked her dry lips; nervousness made her shiver. "Mom, dad. The reason why we did this was…"

"Me." Chloe threw in and both girls shared another glimpse. "Because I need her."

Vanessa had already opened her mouth to interrupt her, but was stopped by her husband as he put his hand on her arm, signing her to let the girl finish.

"You all know how I was doing after my…" She paused, inhaling deeply in order to suppress a sob. "…my dad…died. Mom, you were busy with your own grief and I understand that, but Max…she was there for me; she helped me. And I don't know what will happen, if…if she leaves me. I just need her." she said with a trembling voice; her deep-blue, watery eyes gazing at her best friend again.

"And I won't leave her." Max added, locking eyes with the blonde girl.

Chloe searched for Max's hand under the table and as she found it, they both intertwined their fingers. "We wanted to build our own lives; just the two of us. But…it was a stupid idea and we know it. You can out all guilt on me. Ground me, punish me, do whatever you want, but please, don't take her away from me!"

' _Wowser, Chloe sounds so mature and she wants to take all the blame for this, even though it wasn't her idea alone. And her hand. Is it strange to say that it feels amazing to hold her hand?_ _I feel like I never wanna let go of it again!_ ' Max thought, enjoying the warmth and the feeling of Chloe's hand.

Joyce, Ryan and Vanessa looked at the girls for some moments, throwing each other the one or the other glimpse, like they're overthinking Chloe's words very cautiously. Then Max's dad sighed. "Listen Chloe, I think I speak for the three of us when I say that we're admiring your decency and by god, we all know what you and your mom are going through. But unfortunately, we can't just cancel everything just because of this situation, I'm sorry."

Chloe tightened her grip on Max's hand, as if she feared that her friend might slip away. "B-but there has to be a way."

"There is none, Chloe!" Vanessa blurted out. "Stop living in a dream and face reality! We are moving to Seattle, period! We gave up everything here to make this happen."

Again, Ryan put his hand on his wife's arm. "It would only be for a few years. You two could still stay in contact and when Max has finished Highschool you can still attend the same college."

"He's right, honey." Joyce added.

These words seeped into Chloe's mind and made her despair. Tears started to flow down her cheeks as she realized that they had lost the argument; that there was nothing she could do or say to keep her one and only friend at her side.

Max tried to comfort Chloe by brushing with her thumb over her hand. She recalled her visions; recalled what would happen if she would leave her and it gave her new strength to continue the discussion. "I won't leave her!" she said with a determined voice, underlining how important it was for her. "You were right. I have no right to destroy your dreams, so move to Seattle, and live your dreams! I'll stay here in Arcadia Bay. I can live with Joyce and Chloe. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I'd finish Junior High and after that, I can attend Blackwell. They have an international renowned photography-program and you both know that it is my dream to become a photographer. It would be like I'm in boarding school."

All eyes were now fixed on the brunette girl. Even Chloe looked at her with awe. It was very intimidating for Max, because she never was a person being comfortable standing in the spotlight. She just hoped that her argument was enough to change her parent's mind.

Ryan and Vanessa shared a long gaze. It was strange, like they knew something her daughter didn't. And as her dad nodded, Max had hope that they would agree with her suggestion. But this glimpse of hope was merely destroyed as Vanessa shook her head and started to yell again. "No! I won't leave her here. She's my baby-girl; my Maxine!"

"Vanessa…" her husband tried to calm her down, but she jumped up with such a force that her chair almost flew away.

"No! I've heard enough. This conversation is over! Maxine, get your behind in the car! Ryan, grab our luggage and Maxine's backpack. We're leaving, now!" she spoke, then walked over to her daughter with angry steps, grabbed her arm and pulled Max to her feet with force.

"No, mom. Let me go!"

Joyce and Ryan held Chloe back as she made an attempt to intervene, while Max tried to free herself, but Vanessa held the small girl tight by her shoulders, looking into her eyes deeply. "You will move your butt into the car right now or else!" she threatened with gritted teeth.

A sharp pain pierced through Max's head, making her close her eyes. As she opened them again, she was blinded by a white light. She needed to blink a few times until her eyes had adjusted to the brightness.

Max saw a person, sitting on a chair right beside her. She took a closer look and realized that this person was Chloe, who was a bit older – maybe 18 or 20 – and her short blonde hair had some blue streaks dyed into it. The originally white shirt she was wearing was soaked with blood; her own blood, seeping through a wound on her shoulder. Her head rested with the chin on her collarbone, while her skin was way paler then normal.

Max tried to reach her; wanted to help her, but she wasn't able to move. And as she looked down onto herself she saw that she was bound to chair too. Panic engulfed her heart and she started to cry out Chloe's name, but it seemed like Chloe couldn't hear her.

Suddenly, Chloe raised her head and gazed at Max. The brunette girl saw that this act cost her lot of strength. The blonde gave her a weak smile and seemed to say something, but Max couldn't hear it. Then a deafening BANG rang in her ears and with horror she saw as Chloe's head rocked to one side and fell back onto the collarbone. Her whole body was limp now, without any life. Blood flowed from a fresh wound on the side of her head over her cheek down to her chin and dripped from there onto her body. She was dead. Chloe was dead. Shot in the head.

At first, Max was in complete shock and her whole body trembled. "Ch-Chloe…" she whispered with a shivering voice and began to sob. "No…" Desperation, anger, hate and thousands of other feelings rushed through her mind, until she unleashed them all with an eerily shriek. "NOOOOO!"

With another blink of her eyes she was back in the living room. Four pairs of eyes were fixed on her, looking completely surprised and terrified. Max's gaze wandered from person to person, but when she locked eyes with Chloe, the image of her previous vision repeated again and again. Tears flowed down her cheeks instantly and strong sobs escaped her mouth as she was on the verge of hyperventilation. She couldn't take it anymore. Max turned around and ran out of the house.

The throbbing inside of her head got worse with every second she kept on running. Her limbs hurt. Max knew that she was in no condition to run; that the Ibuprofen she had taken thirty minutes ago wasn't able to suppress the pain anymore. But she didn't care. She had to run away; away from everything. It was too much for her to see Chloe dying like this; to know that Chloe's fate was sealed if her parents would drag her to Seattle. But what could she, a 13 years old girl, do? Her mom was adamant; reasoning with her impossible.

The brunette girl reached a small park at the end of Cedar Avenue. Her body was about to give up, so she headed for the next bench and almost collapsed on it. She buried her face in her hands and cried hard. ' _Why? Why am I seeing this? Why is Chloe the one who has to suffer? Why is this happening? Why her? I can't take this anymore!_ '

Two arms embraced the young girl, pulling her closer into a hug. Max knew who it was; knew the scent and she welcomed it by pressing herself closer to her friend's body. "I don't wanna lose you! I…I don't want you to die!" Max said between the sobs.

Chloe patted her back. "Shhh, calm down Maxi! I'm not gonna die. I promise that I'll always stay in contact with you. I'm gonna bomb your phone with texts every day!"

Max broke the hug and shook her head. "No, Chloe, you don't understand. It's…" she began and sighed, mustering some strength to tell Chloe everything about her visions. "Chloe, I need to tell you something."

"Okay, last time you started a conversation like this I almost kicked you out of my life." The blonde said with a sour expression.

"Will you just listen, Chlo? It's important!" Chloe gave her a slight nod, but there was still some suspicion left. "Remember the day William…the accident happened?"

"How could I forget this fucked up day, Maxi?" was her sarcastically response for her friend's rhetorical question.

"I mean before the accident…" Max saw how Chloe's expression got darker and darker. She knew that Chloe was about to remember the good times with her dad, right before he was ripped out of her life. So, the younger girl continued in order to distract her. "My zoning out while we were playing Mario Kart?"

"Yes Max, I remember a lot of shit that happened on this glorious day, even your zoning out. What's your fucking point?" Chloe blurted in annoyance.

"I wasn't really zoned out, I…I…"

"Shit!" the blonde girl suddenly hissed. "Your dad is coming."

As Max glanced at him she let out a deep exhale. "Damn, I can't catch a fucking break." She muttered.

"Don't let him hear the F-word." Chloe joked with a wry smile, before shifting her attention to Max's dad. "Wow, you let Vanessa and my mom alone? That's hardcore!"

"They calmed down enough, so that in a worst-case-scenario it would only result in some bruises. But jokes aside, I need to talk with my daughter."

"Sure thing." Chloe responded.

"Alone." Ryan added, gazing at the blonde deeply.

"Okaaaay. I'll beeee…over there." She said, giving her friend a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, stood up and walked over to another bench, giving father and daughter some privacy.

"If you're here to convince me that I should go back and get in the car, I won't do it. Not without force." Max said calmly, looking at her hands.

Her dad sighed. "Max, you know that this is a very delicate situation for us, especially for your mom. She did what she did because she loves you very much and is just afraid to lose you."

Now the young girl gave her father a serious glare. "But it was wrong! She hurt me. And if you force me to move to Seattle, I'd just run away again."

Despite the aggressive words of his daughter, Ryan stayed calm, but held her gaze. "We know. That's why I came up with a solution." He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handed it over to Max, who unfolded and read it.

"Blackwell-Junior-Talent-Program?" the freckled girl read out loud.

Ryan nodded. "Mh-hm. It's a new idea of Blackwell's Principle Mr. Wells. I know him since we were your age. He's a decent man, but under a lot of stress. Always trying to bring some positive publicity to Blackwell Academy and this new program is one attempt. The main concept is to find some very talented students from Arcadia Bay Junior Highschool and give them some classes at Blackwell. If the students' results are good enough, they'll have a very high chance for a scholarship."

' _Wowser, this program is like a dream coming true. Photography classes at Blackwell and a chance for a scholarship. Additionally, it would make a great impression on my record and therefore my college application._ ' She thought, reading the flyer over and over again. "But how do I get into this program? I mean, it's still a concept, isn't it?"

"That's right, but it will be more next year. And you're already in the program, because you will be their test-person." he said with a smile.

Max gasped. "Wait, I'm already in? How? I mean, why am I the one they test it on?"

"Well, I showed Mr. Wells and the photography teacher of Blackwell some of your photos and they were impressed by your talent, and I was searching for a reason to keep you here. You can say that this is a win-win-situation for everyone."

Max's eyes widened. "D-does this mean that I can stay in Arcadia Bay?" Ryan nodded with a big smile and was a bit surprised as his daughter suddenly jumped at him and gave him a strong hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she spoke, while tears of joy soaked her father's shirt.

"Of course, this all will come with some catches." he continued, expecting his daughter to be disappointed again, but instead she broke the hug and was still smiling all over her face.

"Anything!" was all she answered.

"First of all, these terms are not negotiable. It took me a lot of talking and pleading to convince your mom, so if you don't accept our conditions the deal is off, alright?" Max nodded seriously, showing that she was willing to accept everything her dad was about to say. "Okay." he continued. "During your stay, Joyce will be your legal guardian until you're 18. This means, you'll listen to her any time, no exceptions. She will stay in contact with us, giving us a report about how you're doing."

' _Okay, this is just reasonable, since I'm only 13 years old. And having Chloe as my legal guardian? A funny thought, but probably not the best idea._ '

"And this is where our other terms come in. We know that you and Chloe are having a hang for shenanigans; and there's probably no way around it, but if you two make Joyce's life a living hell, we'll get you to Seattle. Got it?"

' _This sounds fair too. Chloe and I have a hand for letting things get out of control. Like when we almost burned down the house, because we wanted to iron out some folds on the carpet._ ' Max thought, nodding again.

"The next point will be your grades." Ryan proceeded. "We know that you're not a straight-A-student and we won't demand it from you, but we know that you can do better. Therefore, we want that every future grade of yours isn't less than a B-, except PE, because you're barely able to get a C there and it's not that important to us."

' _Now this is a hard one. I know that I could do better in school, but since Chloe doesn't need to learn for good grades I always fail in bringing up some motivation. This means good bye leisure, hello hard work. Ugh! At least they're gonna cut me some slack on PE._ '

"Last but not least, we want you to visit us on every holiday and vacation. Of course you can bring Chloe if you want. Well, that's it. Are we having a deal?" he asked, reaching Max his hand.

' _Okay, that I'm supposed to visit my parents constantly was something I already expected. And I can even bring Chloe with me. So, no problem there._ ' Max finished her thought and shook her father's hand. "Deal!" she said and pulled him in for another hug. After a moment they separated again. "Dad, why haven't you told me right away?"

"Because we wanted to be sure that this all wasn't some teenage-rebellious-thing; that you truly want this. I'm sorry that everything went out of control, but as I said, your mom loves you very much." he told her and took a glimpse at Chloe. "I suggest that you should tell Chloe the good news right away, because she almost fell off the bench as she tried to overhear our conversation."

Both chuckled. "Yeah, I'm gonna do that. Wanna see her falling off when I tell her the great news. Thanks again, pop!"

Again, they shared a short hug. "Pop? You haven't called me that in years." He spoke, got up and sighed. "Well, I better head back. Hopefully I won't barge in on a cat fight."

Max couldn't suppress another snicker, upon the idea of her mom and Joyce fighting like cats in a cartoon. "Chloe and I will join you guys in a bit."

Ryan gave his daughter another smile and made his way back to the Price's house. While Chloe jumped to her feet and darted towards Max, clearly full of anticipation. "TellmeTellmeTellme!"

Not wanting to leave her best friend without a clue, Max told her everything. With every word Chloe's joy grew more and more, until it exploded into a loud cheer and laughter as the brunette girl had finished her story. Chloe jumped up and down. She was in such euphoria that the blonde girl grabbed her friend's head and pressed her lips onto Max's.

As their lips collided, the only thing Max could do was standing there, her eyes wide open. In a lexicon the definition for 'plank' would say 'Maxine Caulfield while she's kissed by Chloe Price'. Her heart raced like the engine of a Formula One vehicle. She'd stopped breathing. Only one word was repeated in her mind in an endless loop. ' _Wowser. Wowser. Wowser…_ ' Everything else was just numb or didn't exist.

After both girls separated again, neither one of them could tell how much time had been gone by. Chloe, now with a deep-red color in her face, gazed at her feet, shoving some pebbles from here to there. "Uhm…well…y-y'know…uhm…I-I s-still owed you a dare, so…uhm…yeah…" she stuttered, barely able to look at her friend. But as she did, she realized that Max was completely pale. "Hey Super-Max, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"I-I don't feel that super." Max answered as all strength left her body and dizziness engulfed her head. Her headache was worse than ever before. The world began to spin around her, luckily Chloe caught the smaller girl before she hit the ground.

"Shit! C'mon, we need to get you home." The blonde said, embraced Max's body, half-carrying her home.

* * *

It was already dark as Max opened her eyes again. She still felt like a freight train had been run her over. ' _Wh-where am I? Is it night already? Okay Max, just overthink everything; be logic. I probably slept in and now I'm in the guest room. So far so good, but what happened before? The last thing I remember is that I told Chloe that I can stay here, she was very happy and then…then she kissed me. Holy dog, she kissed me! And from this point on it gets blurry. C'mon girl, focus! Easy said than done while a jackhammer is hitting my head constantly. Ugh! Okay, she told me that the kiss was just the fulfillment of my dare, and awkwardly, this makes me feel really sad. But why? It was just a dare, wasn't it? Stupid feelings-stuff! Why is growing up so complicated? Anyway, after the kiss-dare-thingy I felt weak and…oh shit, I fainted! Now I remember. Chloe brought me back to her house and they stuffed me into Chloe's bed._ '

As Max tried to move into another position she recognized that an arm was draped over her body. Becoming aware of her surroundings she also felt a hot breathing on her neck. Max put all pieces together and gasped. ' _Oh…my…dog! Chloe's spooning me!_ '

"Hey sleepyhead, are you awake?" Chloe's drowsy voice chimed behind her.

Max turned around rapidly, ignoring the mumbled complains of her friend. "Chlo, why am I in your bed? Where are my parents?" ' _And why were you spooning me?_ '

"Chillax Maxi! You were completely exhausted and came up with a fever, plus your parents are sleeping in the guest room, so we tugged you in here and I took care of you. Now go back to sleep, 'cause you need it and I'm fucking tired, so nighty night Maximus!" Chloe told her in a sleepy tone, turned around and started to snore.

' _So my parents slept here the entire time we were gone. I'm still feeling bad that I put them under so much pressure, but finally they gave in. I got what I wanted. But why does it make me feel guilty; like I made a big mistake? Gosh! Maybe Chloe's right and I just need some more sleep._ '

Closing her eyes, Max tried to sleep in, but her mind found no rest. Memories, feelings and the events of the last days swirled around in her head; one event in particular: the kiss. Max opened her eyes again and stared at the back of her best friend's head, almost wishing that she would turn around and kiss her again.

'This stupid kiss is everything I can think about right now. Understandable, because it was my first kiss and her lips felt so soft and…ugh, it was just amazing and weird at the same time. I wonder what Chloe felt? After all, she was the one who initiated it. And it seemed far too passionate for just being a dare. Or was it? I could ask her, but what if I interpret too much into this? This could make everything between us awkward. Fuck, I don't know what to do.'

A quiet sob escaped her mouth. She tried to suppress it, but failed and just hoped that she wouldn't wake Chloe. ' _This is all too much for me! These horrible visions, these stupid feelings! I don't want any of this! I just want everybody to be happy, but no matter what I do, I always end up hurting someone. I'm a bad person…a failure!_ ' With these thoughts Max's sobs became more frequent. She moved to far side of the bed, as far away from Chloe as possible and kept on crying until she was embraced by Chloe's arms again.

"Shhh, don't cry Maxi. I'm here. Everything's gonna be fine." the blonde girl mumbled, cuddling herself closer to the brunette's trembling body.

Max held on to her friend's arms in a tight grip and with every passing second she calmed down more and more, until she finally was able to fall asleep again.

* * *

It was almost 10 am as Max woke up. Right on time, Chloe entered the room with a platter full of pancakes, which the small girl almost instantly inhaled.

Chloe always wondered how it was possible that so much fit into the tiny girl. Max betted on an upcoming growth spurt, while Chloe held on to the theory that inside of Max's stomach was a microscopic black hole.

Max felt way better than the day before. No headache, no dizziness and no fever. But one thing still hurt since last night, her heart. Because her parents were about to leave for Seattle in a few hours. Every time she saw her mom and dad it made her sad.

The time went on without any mercy and the moment to say farewell came faster than everyone wished. Max, Chloe and Joyce stood on the lawn, while Ryan and Vanessa put their last pieces of luggage into the car. First tears flowed down Max's cheeks as she watched her parents getting ready to leave.

After everything was packed into the vehicle, Vanessa went for her daughter in a bee-line, embraced her into a tight hug and both started to cry hard. "Stay safe, my little girl!" said the brunette woman between her sobs and everything Max could do was to nod and cuddle her face even deeper into her mom's shoulder.

They both stayed like this for some time until Vanessa broke the hug and brushed over her daughter's cheek, giving her a soft smile. "I can't belief how fast you grew up. My little Maxine is now becoming a woman and wants to go her own way. You were right; we should all live our dreams, even though…" Another sob emerges from her mouth. "…even though we have to go separate ways." Again, Max only nodded, her red cried eyes gazing at her feet. "Joyce, please watch over Maxine like she's your own daughter."

"I'll do that, Van." The blonde woman answered with a determined voice.

"And Chloe, remember what you promised me." Vanessa continued.

Chloe gave her a long look and then an agreeing nod.

Now Max's dad took his daughter in for a strong hug. "Stay strong kiddo, keep out of trouble and remember, whenever you have any problems or even want to move back in, just call; we're always there for you!" Vanessa joined in and the whole Caulfield family was bond together in a big hug.

"I'm so sorry for being such a terrible daughter." Max suddenly cried out.

"No, no, you're not a terrible daughter my little munchkin! You're the best daughter in the whole, wide world. You made a very difficult decision and choose to help a friend in distress. This is nothing else but noble. And if this helps you to fulfill your dreams then it was the right choice!" her mom soothed her, cubing her head.

"Your mom is right, kiddo. Don't put yourself under too much stress. As you said, it will be like you're attending a boarding school. A lot of kids go to boarding schools. It will hurt for the first time, but it will also get better with every day. Just remember, we'll already see us on Thanksgiving in two month, after that come Christmas." Ryan said with a warm smile.

"Please, just stay a day longer!" the brunette girl pleated.

"We can't, Maxine." Vanessa answered. "God knows that we would like to, but your dad has to go to work tomorrow, because his superiors are already growing impatient. But we will call as soon as we arrive, okay?"

Max just nodded again. She felt so terrible, like she's about to collapse and would never be able to stand up again.

"Darling, it's time." Max's dad spoke to his wife, before turning towards Joyce and Chloe. "Joyce, I'll send you all necessary documents first thing tomorrow. You both take good care of our little munchkin."

"We'll do. You both have a safe drive!" Joyce said. She and Chloe hugged Max's parents a last time.

Vanessa gave her little daughter one last kiss on the forehead and made her way to the car, followed by Ryan. Both waved one last time and then they drove off. As soon as the car was out of sight Max's crying became more intense and she held on tight to the only important thing that remained for her: Chloe.


	5. Chapter 5: School and other problems

**Chapter 5: School and other problems**

 _October 17th, 2008_

 _Dear journal, I always asked myself what has been going on inside of Chloe after she'd lost her dad. And I think that I've got a glimpse now. Since my parents left for Seattle I feel an inner emptiness, like a part of me is missing. I was crying for hours after they left, and for the next two days I kept on crying regularly, especially when I was on the phone with my mom. But Chloe was there for me. She comforted and tried to distract me as much as possible and it helped a bit, but..._

 _I don't know, everything feels wrong. Being apart from my parents: wrong. Leaving Chloe alone: wrong. Telling Chloe about my visions: wrong. These stupid feelings: wrong. Everything just sucks! Damn, and now I'm crying again. Shit, I just can't..._

* * *

 _October 18th, 2008_

 _Hi Journal, it's me...again. Had another stupid breakdown yesterday. I just hope that it won't become a common thing. Maybe my head just needs some time to process everything, I mean, so much happened these last few weeks and it is hard to wrap it all up. Anyway, I borrowed one of Joyce's Yoga-meditation-stuff-books and try to use some techniques to calm down, hopefully it'll work._

 _Let's see, what else happened? Oh yeah! I moved into the guest room (very much to Chloe's displease), because my parent's were very adamant about that I need my own space and I think they're right. I mean, try to do some homework while Chloe is jumping up and down beside you like a puppy, because she wants your attention. One answer: fail. No, I think it's a wise decision and truth to be told, I want to be alone from time to time. Sorry Chlo, but this girl needs some space!_

 _See! There she is again! I can't even write in my fucking journal for 5 minutes. *insert groan here and sorry for the curse* But honestly though, it is still cool to live with Chloe in one house! Max Caulfield, signing off._

 _P.S.: I tried to bring up the kiss once or twice (when I wasn't a chicken), but every time Chloe just changed the topic. Looks like she really just fulfilled her dare and that's it. It makes me kinda sad, but also I'm happy that everything is back to normal, or is it? I don't know. I start to hate these stupid feelings! Maybe I should just ignore them, which would be the best way._

* * *

 _October 19th, 2008_

 _Wowser! Yesterday evening a package from my parents arrived, packed with some of my important stuff that was already in Seattle. And guess what else was in it: a brand-new Laptop! Yes, a new Laptop! Can you belief it? My dad said that it would've been way more expensive to ship my old desktop PC (obviously exaggerated) and boom, new tech. Chloe was soooo jealous! Need...to...test...it...now.'_

 _But first things first! Tomorrow, school starts for me and Chloe again...after a 3 week vacation. I think I could fill whole pages with my groans here, but that would be a waste. Just to catch up all the missed stuff is gonna be a pain the butt and a buttload of work! Let alone that I have to see Jasmine Graves, the über-bitch of Junior High, again. I bet a million Dollars that she's gonna bully me the first thing she sees me. Thank dog that Chloe's at my side to fend off the evil! Let's just hope the best. Max Caulfield, going to bed now. Good night, ol' journal._

* * *

A constant and loud beeping noise woke Max from her deep slumber. Still half asleep, she reached for the clock and with a groan she threw it into the next corner, turning the beeping into a clattering sound of bits and pieces. ' _Shit, now I need a new alarm clock. Joyce won't be happy about it. Ugh!'_

With another groan she turned to the other side and tried to fall asleep again. As, suddenly, her room door is opened and Chloe stormed in.

"Wakey, wakey, Maxi!" the blonde cheered, jumping on Max's bed and shook her like crazy.

"Weave me awone, 'loe." she mumbled into her pillow as she covered her face with it.

"C'mon sleepyhead, mom made breakfast and we need to move if we don't wanna be late." Chloe said, got off the bed and pulled away the covers.

Max shrieked and rolled into a ball as the cold air hit her warm body. "Jeez Chlo, it's freezing!"

"Then get your ass in gear to warm up!"

The brunette girl threw her pillow at her friend, missing her only by a few inches. "Missed!" Chloe snickered as she left the room.

Slowly Max struggled herself into a sitting position, took her instant camera and made her daily morning selfie. The picture emerged from her cam and as always, she looked at it with distaste. _'Still looking like shit. Wow, I have such a high opinion of myself. Thanks, oh dear bullies, for giving me such an amount of self-esteem!_ '

"Are you still in bed?" Chloe asked her friend as she entered the room again, this time fully dressed in some black jeans and a white t-shirt.

Max got up her camera to shoot a picture of her friend, but almost dropped it as she gazed at her. "Chlo, what happened to your hair."

Ruffling through her short blond hair, Chloe smiled wryly. "Oh this, I...uhm...I cut my hair short last night. Y'know, change of style 'n stuff. You like it?"

Max gulped and her heart was going faster. _'Okay, Chloe looks really cute with short hair...of course I meant cool._ ' she thought. _'I need to go to a barber today, because I hate these stupid long hairs...or I let Chloe do it. She did a great job with her own hair, so, why not?_ '

"Looking great! Uhm...is it possible that you...I mean..." she started, brushing through her messy long hair.

A mischievously smile formed on Chloe's lips as she understood what Max was about to ask. "Do your hair? Sure! But it has to wait until after school, because we need to hurry now."

Chloe went down the stairs, while Max walked into the bathroom like a zombie. The brunette girl closed the door, stripped off her pajamas and started her morning ritual by looking at her freckled body in the mirror. "Ugh, ugly!" she just mumbled as suddenly the door flew open again and Chloe walked in without any second thoughts.

Shrieking again, Max tried to cover her body as much with her thin arms as possible, turned around and started to yell. "Dammit Chloe, I'm naked! Get the fuck out!"

As Max received no answer, she looked over her shoulder, only to see that Chloe was stunned, blushed and staring at her. "Y-yeah...s-sorry. J-just n-needed some...uhm..." she stuttered, grabbed a pack of tampons and left the bathroom faster than she'd entered it.

Completely blushed from head to toe, Max still stood there. _'What was that? I mean, yes, we already saw each other naked. Gosh, until two years ago we even bathed together and I was just surprised by her sudden enter, but why was she staring at me? She never did this before. Either way, it was embarrassing and in future I need to lock the door.'_

After she'd showered and dressed herself in her common blue jeans, a pink t-shirt and a grey hoodie, Max went downstairs to join Chloe and Joyce having breakfast.

"Morning, sweetheart!" Joyce said with a warm smile.

"Hmm, morning." Max mumbled, sat down and began to eat her ham and eggs.

Both girls didn't look or talk to each other, which made Joyce curious, because it was very uncommon for both of them. "Okay girls, what's going on? And don't tell me that you two don't understand each other anymore."

Chloe and Max gave each other a short glimpse. "No, we...uhm...we just had a stupid situation up there and...and...ugh, it doesn't matter, okay?" Chloe said with some agitation, stood up and left the room.

"Care to fill me in?" Joyce now addressed to Max, clearly more puzzled than before.

The small girl sighed. "Chloe barged into the bathroom while I was naked, that's all."

"And that is a reason to act this strange?" the blonde woman said with a raised eyebrow.

Now Max was the one acting agitated, standing up too. "How should I know? I'm not her. I have my own stupid problems!" With these words, Max left the living room, walked to her room in a bee-line, grabbed her stuff and then knocked at Chloe's door. "C'mon Chloe, time to go, you can sulk later."

The door opened rapidly and Chloe walked past Max, her backpack on her shoulders and her skateboard under her arm. "Yeah, let's bail." was everything she said.

* * *

The weather was sunny, but the coldness of the nearing winter dominated the temperatures. The two friends were on their way to school. Max by foot and Chloe on her skateboard, rolling slowly beside the brunette girl. Both wore thick jackets and Chloe additionally a beanie.

"Uhm...about the thing that happened earlier..." Chloe began with a slightly nervous voice.

"Chlo..." Max interrupted her. "...it's fine. It was an accident and we both were surprised. I'm even sorry that I yelled at you."

"But..." the blonde tried to continue, but suddenly Max stopped in her tracks and gazed sternly at her friend.

"No buts, Chlo. It...was...an...accident." the brunette said and looked deeply into Chloe's deep blue eyes, touching her arm. "Listen Chloe, the last few weeks were just crazy; so much shit happened. I-I just want everything to be back to normal, okay?"

The taller girl nodded, but seemed to be a bit disappointed. "And the important stuff you wanted to tell me in the park? Is that counting as 'not normal' too?"

This time, Max was the one who nodded; her eyes began to well up. "Chloe, I'm scared! Actually, I'm scared shitless, because I'm afraid that I might lose it. For now, you're everything that holds me together!" she said and embraced Chloe into a tight hug, starting to sniff.

Chloe stroked her friend's head, trying to calm her down. "I'm here, Maxi! Don't be afraid, I'm not leaving you!" They broke the hug and Chloe wiped away a tear from Max's cheek. "You're right. The last three weeks were really fucked up. Now, let us leave them behind and move forward...together!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Maxine Cockfield and her pathetic watchdog Chloe. I thought that your sorry ass was supposed to be in Seattle by now?" a voice mocks viciously from across the street.

While Max wiped away the tears with her sleeve, Chloe just rolled with her eyes in annoyance, knowing who just said those mean words.

 _'Great, the day hasn't even started and I already have to deal with my nemesis. Now I wish someone would've taken my bet._ '

"Nope, her sweet behind stays right here, but aren't you supposed to let your fat ass get licked by one of your cronies and keep on failing as a cheerleader?" Chloe responded as she and Max turned their gaze towards a chubby girl with curly black hair in way too expensive clothes, who was flanked by four other girls.

 _'That was a good one, Chlo! Jasmine Graves is the daughter of Arcadia's second richest family and therefore she always thinks that she can do everything she wants, but she can't do shit. She's bad grades, tries every hobby someone else is good at and completely fails at being better. Her last failed try: cheerleading. Nobody dares to say it our loud...well, except for Chloe.'_

Jasmine's face turned deep red as Chloe mentioned her two most hated topics: her weight and her failures. But then the most evil grin appeared on her face. "Hey Price, I heard that your dad took the shit. Seems like he finally got sick of your daddy issues." Her bitch-posse commented her statement with some snickers.

 _'Oh shit, that's not good!'_

Max looked at her friend with concern. She knew that this topic was her weak-spot. Chloe's face was a mixture of pain and anger, her hands were clenched into fists. The smaller girl felt that she was either about to burst into tears or do go all berserk on Jasmine.

As Chloe was about to sprint to the other side of the street, something strange happened. Something that startled Max. Somehow she went into full autopilot, not able to control her next actions.

With an outstretched arm she held back Chloe, while her face showed the most agitated expression she ever had in her life and her blue doe-eyes became piercing daggers. "You are one to talk, miss daddy-issue! At least Chloe's dad was always there for her and didn't just send her some lousy text massage to her birthday while fucking his secretary at the same time." she shot back, referring to a wide-spread rumor about Jasmine's father.

"You take that back, right now!" Jasmine yelled, looking like a volcano ready to explode.

"Only if you take back what you just said to Chloe." Max responded, holding the black-haired girl's angry gaze.

Jasmine Graves now realized that she'd lost. Everyone was looking at her, anticipating her next move. If she would've given in to Max's demand, she would've admitted her defeat. If she would've just walked away, she might have stood her ground, but still had to accept that one of her victims back talked to her, and therefore scratched her reputation.

"Mark my words, Cockfield, you're gonna regret what you just said!" she spoke with gritted teeth, her voice full of venom. Then she flicked with her fingers and her posse followed her steps.

"Yeah, right!" the brunette girl scoffed, flipping her off. And as soon as they were out of sight, Max regained full control of her body again.

' _Okay, what the hell was that? I mean, I went full badass on her, but why? I couldn't control it. It was like someone had taken over my body. Am I schizophrenic or such stuff? Either way, it creeps the shit out of me._ '

Max's stretched out arm dropped to her side. She gazed at Chloe, who just stood there and stared into empty space, her cheeks wet from tears. "Sh-she made fun of my dad." the blonde girl whispered with a shivering voice.

"Not anymore, Chlo. I think we taught her a lesson."

Chloe embraced Max into another tight hug. "Thanks Max, you were so awesome! You stood up for me like…like…"

Max broke the embrace and looked into her friend's blue eyes deeply. "A real friend?"

The taller girl nodded and pulled her friend into a hug again, whispering in her ear. "Even more."

* * *

Max arrived at her classroom a few minutes before school began. As the brunette entered the room, she almost ran against a wall of loud chitchat emitted by all the present students. ' _Haven't missed this at all._ ' she thought and tried to head for her seat in the back row in a bee-line, trying to be as invisible as possible, only to recognize that it was already occupied by an unfamiliar girl with long blonde hair.

' _Great. I haven't been around for 3 weeks and my place is already taken by another person. Hmm, never seen her before. Maybe she's new in Arcadia?_ '

"Hi! Uhm…is this seat already taken?" Max asks the blonde girl shyly, pointing at the chair beside her.

At first, it seemed that the unknown girl hadn't noticed Max, but then she glimpsed at the brunette girl and shook her head.

Max took it as a sign to sit down and unpacked everything she needed for her upcoming class. After she'd finished preparing, she waited for the lecture to start, gazing at the girl beside her from time to time.

' _She still hasn't said one word. Maybe she's afraid and lonely. Maybe she's a weirdo, but actually, I'm too. So, let's give it a try and talk!'_

"I-I'm Max, by the way."

"Taylor." the blonde responded plainly, eyes fixed on the table.

' _Well, better than nothing. At least I know her name now.'_

"Hi Taylor, nice to meet you! So, are you new in Arcadia Bay?" Max kept on asking with a warm smile.

Suddenly, Taylor gave Max an evil look and almost yelled at her. "Why do you even care? I don't know you, so why should I tell you anything, huh?"

Max was startled by the sudden verbal attack, but managed to respond anyway. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry. You just seemed kinda lonely and lost, and I wanted to be polite, that's all."

Taylor sighed, averting the brunette's gaze. "I'm the one who has to apologize, not you. Look, I didn't mean to be rude, but I'm kinda over humanity today. But if you wanna know, yes, I'm new in town and so are you, am I right?" she said, now giving Max a wry smile.

"Actually, I've been living in Arcadia since I was born here. I just had 3 weeks off, 'cause my friend needed my help and stuff."

"Wow, catching up 3 weeks of missed classes just for a friend? That has to be a special friend then." the blonde said, clearly surprised.

"Yeah, my best and only friend." Max spoke, staring into empty space as she thought about Chloe.

' _Jeez, I haven't seen her for a few minutes and I already miss her? Damn, I really need to get a grip of myself._ '

"Max? Are you okay?"

Back in reality, Max gazed at Taylor, blushing a bit. "Y-yeah, sorry. I was just zoned out; happens now and then. Something you need to get used to…if you still wanna sit next to me."

The blonde girl just scoffed. "No wonder that they call you a weirdo." she spoke without any judgment or grudge.

"Hmm, that's kinda my reputation here. But how do you know? I mean, I wasn't around and people still made fun of me?"

"No, I just overheard some girls, talking about a Max and that she's a weirdo and such crap. But now that I know you, I actually think that you're a nice girl and not a weirdo or worse." Taylor said with a warm smile.

' _Wowser, did she just gave me compliment? That is new, too. Gosh, I guess things will never be normal again. Ugh! Well, at least it's a positive change, so I'll take it and run!_ '

Before Max could give a respond, the bell rung and the teacher entered the room. All commotion died immediately and everybody took their seat.

The teacher coughed two times before he started. "Okay, last week we began to talk about the civil war. Let's start the lesson with some Q & A. I hope you learned some of the facts. Miss Christensen, why don't you start?" he addressed Taylor, who gasp out of surprise, but stood up nonetheless.

' _Shit! A Q & A on Monday morning, that's tough. Let's hope that Taylor learned her stuff.'_

"Well, let's start with a simple question. Miss Christensen, please tell me the exact date and the event, which started the war."

' _Okay, this isn't that hard. April 12, 1861, confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Ugh, thanks mom and dad that I had to learn this stupid stuff to please your wish for better grades._ '

Max glimpsed at Taylor from the corner of her eyes, just to see that the blonde girl stood there, not saying one word.

' _Oh no, she doesn't know. If there'd be any way to help her…_ '

"Miss Christensen, I still wait for your answer." the teacher spoke impatiently.

An idea came abrupt into Max's mind. She secretly took out a pen and some paper, scribbling the date and the event on it. Then the brunette girl faked that she was looking for something, sliding her pencil case with the piece of paper to Taylor's side of the table. With a soft pat on her thigh, Max made her aware of it.

Taylor read Max's notes and answered the question. After she'd given the right answer, the blonde sat down again and gave Max a warm smile, mouthing her a "Thank you!"

* * *

"Finally!" Max groaned as the bell rung again, ending the history lesson. "Gosh, there's nothing that is more boring than history."

"Math?" Taylor added as they both packed their stuff.

"Nah, math just sucks. At least my next lesson is one of my favorites." the brunette spoke with a happy voice, walking out of the classroom.

"Yeah, the next one is my fav, too. I just love art. You can do what you want and like, and still get good grades." said Taylor, who followed Max.

"Are you talking about 'Modern Art'?" the small girl asked in awe.

"Of course. Wait, you chose this class, too?" the blonde responded as they reached the art-room and took their seats.

Max chuckled. "Obviously…Taylor, stop! Don't move!" she said, rummaged through her bag and brought forth her instant camera. The brunette girl changed her position a bit, adjusted the angle and took the shot. With a whirring sound the picture emerged from the camera. Out of a habit, Max shook it and waited for its development.

"Wow, an instant cam? Now you don't tell me that you're into photography, too."

"Yup, it's kinda my thing. But I'm not that good. Mainly, I do selfies and the one or other nature shot, but nothing special." the freckled girl noted, averting Taylors amazed glance.

Taylor snapped the picture out of Max's hand and lacked some words. The picture showed her in front of the classroom's window, enlightened by the sun which made her hair glistening like gold. "Okay Max, if this shot isn't perfect, then I don't know what it is. Dammit, you're a fucking talent!"

' _What?! Another compliment from a person who I just met? Now it's getting creepy._ '

"N-no, I'm not. Besides, the shot is only as beautiful as the model." Max said shyly and as she looked at Taylor again, she realized that the blonde was staring at her, blushing intensively. "Oh shit, that came out wrong. I didn't mean beautiful…I mean, yes, you are beautiful, but…uhm…you are a perfect model and…uhm…ugh!"

Max let herself fall onto the chair, burying her face in her hands, in order to hide her own blushing face and to hope that she might turn invisible.

Thankfully, the bell chimed again, signing the start of the next lesson. Max was just relieved and hoped that Taylor might forget this awkward moment.

* * *

"How's your portfolio coming?" Max asked Taylor, while they were both working on it.

Taylor leaned her head to one side, inspecting the folder in front of her. "Well, it's getting somewhere. But it would be better if my shots were as good as yours."

"Don't say that! Your pictures are great. You have a complete different style. So, technically, you can't compare them anyway." Max told the blonde, touching her shoulder reassuringly. "A-about what I said before…" the brunette girl continued.

Taylor dropped her pen, sighed deeply and then looked into Max's blue eyes. "Max, I know how you meant it and…" She exhaled deeply again. "You are the first person who ever told me that I'm beautiful…well, except my mom…so, thanks for the compliment!"

Both girls smiled at each other for a while, their eyes locked. With a cough, Max broke the gaze and they focused on their task again. "At least you are actually beautiful, I mean, look at me. I only say one word: freckles."

"I think your freckles are cute." Taylor responded, deeply in thoughts over her portfolio.

' _Okay, that was compliment number three, and a very heavy one. Ladies and gentlemen, you've just entered the creepy-zone!_ ' Max thought, while her heartrate increased. Now she was staring at the blonde.

Taylor stopped her doing immediately as she realized what she just said and gazed at Max with wide opened eyes and a blushed face.

And again, the ringing bell broke this awkward moment and both girls started to pack their stuff. "Uhm…Taylor, y-you wanna grab some lunch at the cafeteria?"

"I'd like to, but I'm already meeting with some girls in town, sooo…"

Max's heart dropped. "Oh…uhm th-that's fine. I'm meeting with my friend too. But I thought that maybe you two should get to know each other."

Taylor gave her a warm smile. "Sounds great. Maybe we should do that tomorrow. What are your next classes?"

"Chemistry and PE."

"Hmm, shit. I have English Literature and Physics. So, I guess we won't see each other until tomorrow."

"Seems that way." Max said with some disappointment as they left the room.

Suddenly, Taylor gave Max a hug. "See ya tomorrow, Max." she spoke to the brunette girl in a soft voice.

Max didn't know what to do or what to say, she just stood there and enjoyed the hug. Why she enjoyed it so much? She didn't know. "Y-yeah, see you tomorrow!"

Both girls parted again. Taylor gave Max a last warm smile and handed her a piece of paper, before she went on.

Max unfolded the paper and read the message. _Here's my number. Text me!_ As the brunette raised her head from the paper again, Taylor had already disappeared in the crowd of students.


	6. Chapter 6: Change of style

**Chapter 6: Change of style**

Still holding the piece of paper with Taylor's phone number on it, Max stood in the crowded floor and stared at it.

' _Okay, let me get this straight. All those years I went to school I only found one friend, Chloe. All the others always treated me like shit or like I'm thin air. And now? Now all this crazy shit happens and suddenly I find a new friend on my first day in school? What the hell is going on here?_ '

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as someone pushed her so hard that the small girl lost her balance and fell to the ground, hitting it hard with a groan.

"Watch it, freak!" a male voice spoke aggressively.

' _Ouch, should've known that this all seemed too good to be true._ '

"S-sorry." she said automatically.

"Watch it, asshole!" Chloe's voice chimed and as Max tried to get up again, the guy who pushed her stumbled past her and landed on his butt. "Awww, little jerky made bouncy-bouncy." the blonde mocked with a childish voice, flipping him off, before she shifted her gaze towards Max. "Are you alright, Maxi?" she asked with concern, helping her friend up.

"Y-yeah, it didn't hurt that much." Max answered nonchalantly, but deep inside she was hurt and as she looked into her best friend's eyes, her own were welling up.

Chloe embraced the smaller girl into a hug, brushing with her hand over her back to sooth her. "Shh, I'm here, Max. This asshole won't do it again."

Cuddling deeper into her friend's shoulder, Max let out a deep exhale. "Thank you, Chlo. You're the best!"

"I know. You better use the chance and merry me, making sure that I'll always stick around." the blonde mocked with a big grin as Max stared at her with wide eyes and a deep blush.

"Dork!" she answered with a wry smile, giving Chloe a slight push.

Chloe's expression became dead serious again as she glanced over Max's shoulder at the guy who pushed her friend and was now sitting on the floor. "Whatcha looking at, Logan? Take a hike or I'll kick your tiny footballs over the crossbar!" she addressed to him and he took the message and left. Then she put her arm around Max's shoulder like a guardian. "C'mon Maxi, let's get some grub!"

The PA of the High school came to life with a cracking and the typical binging sound, making all students to pay attention. " _Miss Maxine Caulfield, please report to the Principal's office. Miss Maxine Caulfield, to the Principal's office, please!"_ it chimed from the speakers.

"What the fuck does Hargrove want from you?" Chloe asked with some concern.

"I-I don't know." Max answered with a shrug. "Guess the only way to find out is to go there. But you can go on and grab some bite, before you starve."

"Nu-uh, Max. I can wait. Besides, I can get us some food and then we'll meet at our special spot." Chloe told her as they started to walk towards the Principal's office.

"Sounds like a good plan! I just hope that it isn't something serious." Max added in a low and concerned tone as they reached the office.

"Yeah, me too. But hey, you're Max Caulfield, the most peaceful human being on this planet. I don't think that you're in any trouble." the blonde said with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Chlo! I'm so glad that I have you!" After she spoke these words, the smaller girl embraces her best friend into another hug. "See ya later!"

Chloe broke the hug and gave her another supporting squeeze on the shoulder. "Take care, Maxi! See ya in a bit!"

Both girls gave each other another smile, before Chloe moved on through the hall. Max stood now in front of the door, but hesitated to knock.

' _Okay Max, keep calm! Chloe is right, I didn't do anything wrong and therefore have no reason to be afraid. But why would Principal Hargrove want to see me? Ugh, I better just knock and find out._ '

The small girl knocked softly on the door and after a few moments a friendly "Come in, please!" chimed from the other side.

"Ah, Miss Caulfield! Principal Hargrove's already awaiting for you. You can go right through." the friendly secretary, an older lady with brown hair, told her with a smile.

Max went right on to the next door, saying a soft "Thank you." and knocked at it.

"Come in!" a strict female voice chimed from inside. Max opened the door and entered the Principal's office, holding the strap of her bag in a tight grip. "Miss Caulfield, please, close the door and sit down!" Principal Hargrove, a woman in her forties with very short cut black hair, commanded, not even lifting her gaze from the papers she was working on.

The young girl did what she was told and sat down onto a chair. She was very nervous, her hands all sweaty and her heart almost jumped out of her chest. To distract herself, the brunette took a look around the room. It was a standard-office; not really big and filled with file-cabinets and bookshelves.

Finally, the Principal raised her head from her desktop and looked at the small girl with a stern expression. "Miss Caulfield, you were always, what we call, a quiet student. Mediocre grades, a clean record, no trouble, ergo inconspicuous . But somehow that changed. Two months ago, your parents filed in that you would leave this school. But last week they suddenly changed their mind and a day later I received this." She took some sheet of paper and shoved it in front of Max, who identified it as a letter from Blackwell Academy, regarding the talent-program.

Principal Hargrove stood up, walked to one of her file-cabinets and rummaged through it until she found the file she was looking for, Max's file. With a loud thud it landed on her desk and she sat down again with a sigh. "You see, Miss Caulfield, before I got this letter, I've never heard of this program. Neither did anyone tell me that there's already a test-student, namely you. The school-board of Arcadia County and Blackwell just decided over my head to stomp such a program out of the ground, without giving ME the slightest hint!" she almost shouted.

Hargrove was now in fully rage and with every word she said, Max wanted to become smaller and smaller; wanted to disappear. She felt uncomfortable and on the brink of crying. The black-haired woman realized Max's condition, took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"Miss Caulfield, I'm sorry that you have to hear this and I wish it would be different, but you accidently became a play ball in a struggle of authority between Blackwell, the school-board and our school. A struggle that's already raging for years."

Max's heart almost stopped as the worst-case-scenario crawled into her mind. She didn't care for school politics, but for her own and Chloe's future. "D-does this mean th-that the program is canceled?" she spoke in a low and almost shivering voice.

"No, Miss Caulfield, the board forces me to accept this program." A sigh of relief escaped the small girl. "But this doesn't mean that I have to support it. Therefore, and that is why I called you here, you won't receive any help from me. This means, you'll get no support from our side. No cut from homework, no free periods. You'll have to catch up the entire missed stuff all by yourself." She paused for a moment, seeing that Max was only staring at her hands, her dreams about to be destroyed; a heart-breaking sight. Hargrove sighed again, she didn't want to do it, but school politics are no different from real politics. They're a battlefield. A war with casualties and collateral damage. And if you want to win a battle you have to make sacrifices. "Miss Caulfield, I looked over you file and your grades, and frankly…" she sighed again. "…they're not the best and I don't know if such a program is the right way for you; at least not under these conditions. I recommend that you finish Junior High school first and then try to apply for Blackwell. This way we can assure that your grades won't become worse." the Principal told her in a soft and almost soothing voice.

Max stayed silent, still staring at her hands. Hargrove didn't know that there was more to this program than just becoming a student at Blackwell or fulfilling a dream. For Max it was about life and death of her best friend.

"Miss Caulfield, you don't have to give me an answer right away. Just think about it, okay?" The brunette girl just gave her a slight nod. "Okay. If you want to talk about this some more or need some help with your decision, you can always come by. Now, I suggest that you go outside and enjoy this sunny day. Good day, Miss Caulfield." Miss Hargrove spoke, shifting her focus on the pile of papers on the desk again.

Max stood up and walked out of the office, head still down. She felt depressed, unmotivated and completely empty. Tears were already forming in the corners of her eyes, but she suppressed the need to cry. She's already been bullied enough and having a meltdown in the middle of the hallway wouldn't exactly raise her reputation. For now, she just had one goal: reaching their special spot and see Chloe, her only bright light in these dark days.

* * *

Max and Chloe had a lot of special or secret places around Arcadia Bay. Places where the two of them could be alone; where they could do everything they wanted; where they could just be pirates. Behind a side building of their school were some old stairs nobody used anymore, because the entrance they're leading to has been barricaded a long time ago.

As Max arrived, Chloe already sat there on the steps, some trays from the cafeteria, filled with food, beside her. The blonde girl lifted her head and smiled at her friend, but the smile faltered instantly as she realized that something was wrong. She got up in no time and walked towards Max, who started to sob as soon as Chloe embraced her in a soothing hug.

"What happened, Maxi?" she asked, caressing the smaller girl's back.

But Max doesn't answer her right away, she just wasn't able to form words between her continuous sobs. With every passing second that she was with Chloe; that she felt her closeness; that she heard her voice, the smaller girl calmed down more and more, until both girls stood there silently.

Chloe broke the hug and gave Max a comforting smile. "C'mon dude, let's eat something first." she said, leading the younger girl to the stairs.

Both girls ate their food in silence until Max felt ready and told Chloe about what happened.

"Hargrove's a tool!" was the only comment that came into Chloe's mind. "And what now? Are you gonna leave the program?"

Max shook her head frenetically. "No, if I abandon the program I'd have no reason to stay and I don't want to leave! I'll never leave you! I promised! This program is the only thing that keeps me here and if it means that I have to work my ass off to make it happen, then so be it." she spoke with a serious voice, giving Chloe a glare that showed her that she meant business.

The blonde's gaze dropped. "Max, why are you doing this? I mean, you could've been save and sound with your parents in Seattle; the mecca of art. But instead, you choose to stay here. You could've started a new life, at a school without the whole bullying-shit. And what about your dream of becoming a photographer? If Hargrove's right…"

"Stop it right there, Chlo!" the brunette interrupted her friend. "Yes, everything could've been easier or maybe better, but I wanted this. I decided to stay at your side, no matter the cost!"

"I already told you that you only have to merry me." Chloe joked with a wink, overplaying that she'd loved to jump at Max and hug her like crazy.

Laying her head on her friends shoulder, Max closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness. "If this is the only way to keep you at my side, count me in!"

"Really?" the blonde responded with eyes wide open, clearly taken aback, because she wasn't expecting this answer.

"Mh-hm. Living together in our own place, sharing stuff, just the two of us and nobody else… it sounds kinda cool. But, of course, without the eww-stuff."

"Yeah…" Chloe scoffed weakly, with some disappointment in her voice and her face slightly blushed. "…without eww-stuff." Then she glanced at her phone and sighed. "Lunch break's almost over, we should head back."

"Bummer!" Max responded, stretched her limbs and stood up slowly. "I'd love to spent some more time with you, instead of having all this school-drama-stuff."

"Heyyy…" the taller girl spoke, ruffling through Max's hair. "You'll still have plenty of Chloe-time after school. We're living together, remember?"

"Yeah…" is everything Max answered with a warm smile as both girls left their special place.

* * *

"Ouch!" gasped Max as she played back an incoming volleyball and miraculously, it even landed in the field of the other team, earning her team a point and Max some encouraging comments.

' _Wowser, my first point I ever made in this game. Maybe I should do Volleyball as an extra activity after school?'_

The girl who served the ball now glanced at the small girl evilly, not willing to accept that someone like Max countered her serving. She aimed and served the ball with maximum strength. All Max could do as she saw this projectile of death heading her way, was to cover her face with her arms and wait for the impact. And it came. The force was so strong that the poor girl was thrown back, landing on her butt with a shriek.

' _Holy crapers, that hurt like hell! So much for making Volleyball an activity._ '

"Okay girls, time's up! Everyone, hit the showers!" the teacher's voice chimed through the gym.

With a groan Max tried to get up, her arms already red and burning, as suddenly someone reached her a hand. The brunette girl looked up and gazed into the blue eyes of a tall, auburn-haired girl. "Nice counter there…Max, right?" she said with a smile, helping her up.

"Th-thanks! But I think it was more luck than talent." Max responded with a shrug.

"Don't be so hard to yourself! It was great. I think with a little practice you could be really good."

"Hey Dana, are you coming?" a girl addressed the auburn-haired one.

"Yeah, I'm there in a bit." she answered, before focusing on Max again. "Sorry, I have to go. Me and the girls wanna go shopping. You can come along if you want to."

Taken by surprise, because of the sudden invitation, Max's jaw almost dropped.

' _Again a friendly person, who even invites me for a shopping-tour? What is going on here?_ '

"Uhm…hello?" Dana said, flicking her finger in front of Max's face.

"Uh…th-thanks f-for asking, b-but I…uhm...I'm already meeting with a friend…s-sorry." Max stammered.

Dana just shrugged with a smile. "Alright, no biggie. Maybe another time. See ya!"

The gym was almost completely vacant as Max snapped back into reality. With a loud sigh she headed for the locker room, took her shower supplies and went for a long shower. She let the hot water run over her body, her eyes closed.

' _What a day! I can't wait to get home, throw everything in a corner and chill with Chloe the whole evening. I think a movie and a pizza are in order!_ '

After the shower, Max dressed herself and took a look at her phone, seeing that Chloe had sent her a two messages.

 _Chloe: yo maxi, need 2 get something in town. wait for me home._

 _Chloe: p.s. prepare to get styled!_

' _Curses, I completely forgot that I asked Chloe to give me a new haircut. So much for chilling out. Well, maybe a change of style will give me some strength…or lead to the ultimate catastrophe. But I trust Chloe, so, everything will be fine._ '

Another deep sigh escaped her mouth as she closed her locker, swung her bag over her shoulder and started her way back home.

* * *

As soon as she'd closed the front door, Max threw her shoes in the corner with the others, headed upstairs and into her room. There, she took off her jacket and her bag, and then changed into some more comfortable clothes: a plain t-shirt and some sweatpants.

The young girl took out her phone and the piece of paper Taylor had given her, saving the number and thinking about what she should write her.

' _Taylor was really nice to me, despite the fact that she already knew about my reputation. I should definitely text her…but what should I write? Hmm…maybe I should keep it simple._ '

 _Max: Hi Taylor! How are you doing? Here you have my number. :-)_

Max lay on her bed, waiting for an answer. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes felt like hours, before, suddenly, Max's phone chimed.

 _Taylor: Hi Max. Pretty busy right now. No time for texting. Thanks for the number._

Out of disappointment, Max's heart almost dropped. But she wanted to play it cool, because in the end, both girls met each other just this very day.

 _Max: No biggie. We see us in school tomorrow anyway. You can text me anytime, though._

Max took out her camera to make a last 'before-the-haircut-picture' and as the token selfie emerged from her cam, her phone chimed again. Expecting it to be a message from Chloe, the brunette's eyes widen in surprise as she saw that it was another text from Taylor.

 _Taylor: Hey Max. Found a perfect location to take some awesome pictures. You know the old house at the end of Pine Street?_

' _She probably means the old mansion up the hill. A creepy place. A few years ago, Chloe and I dared each other to go in there, but even Chloe chickened out. It is said that a whole family got murdered in there and that people still just disappear when they come to close to it.'_

 _Max: Yeah, know it. Scary place._

 _Taylor: Come on, Max! There are no such things as ghosts, just an old house. Pleeeease!_

Max sighed, her fingers hovering over the keys. She wanted to make some cool shots and spend some time with her new friend. But was it worth to go near a spooky house?

' _Definitely!'_ she thought and typed an answer.

 _Max: Okay!_

 _Taylor: Great! Let's meet before school starts to catch the sunrise._

 _Max: I'll be there._

 _Taylor: See you then!_

The door flew open rapidly and Chloe stormed in. "Surprise tickle attack!" she shouted and tackled Max onto the bed. The stronger Chloe held Max tight with one hand and tickled her with the other one.

Max's loud laughter chimed through the whole house. "Ch-Chloe…st-stop it! I'm…I-I'm…air…n-need air!" was everything she could say between her laughter.

Chloe stopped the tickling. She was laying on Max, face to face, their noses almost touching each other. "Ready for a haircut?" she spoke with a big grin.

Breaking the gaze, the smaller girl blushed upon the more than intimate closeness. "Chlo, I-I don't wanna be rude, b-but you're kinda heavy."

"Yeah…" the blonde responded and got up. "Sorry for the attack, but I couldn't withstand the urge to hear you laughing. So, ready to change your style?"

An inner nervousness was spreading inside the brunette girl. Her hands became clammy and she had the need to hide under her blanket. "Well, as ready as I can be." she responded with a shrug, getting up, too.

"Don't worry, Maximus. I won't overdo it, promised!"

"I trust you, but you know that I don't like changes so much."

Chloe had already prepared a chair and everything she needed in the bathroom. "Okay Maxi, take off your shirt and sit down." the blonde spoke and signed Max to sit down, who, however, blushed beet-red and embraced her body with both arms.

"W-why?"

At first, the older girl was just surprised by the question, but then sighed and nodded in acknowledgement. "Chill Maxi, I just don't want your shirt to be full of cut hair, because it's itching like shit. And I promise that I won't stare again. Here…" She turned around and brought forth her pirate towel, handing it to Max. "You can cover yourself with my towel. I even turn around until your done." she said and turned her gaze away from her friend.

Max took off her shirt and sat down. "Ready."

Turning around again, Chloe nearly stumbled backwards in surprise as she realized that Max hadn't covered her chest. "I-I thought you wanted…" she began, but was interrupted by her friend.

"Chlo, you already saw me naked this morning and as I already mentioned, I trust you. By the way, there's nothing up here that is worth hiding." Her last words were dripping with disappointment and her gaze dropped.

Instantly, Chloe placed her hand on Max's shoulder, giving her a warm and reassuring smile to comfort her. "In time, Maxi, in time. Just be patient, okay? But for now, lets take care of your hair! Any wishes?"

"I think I want a generic bob."

Giving her a skeptical face, Chloe just shook her head. "Nope, no boring bob. Not as long as I'm doing your hair. My idea is that I cut your hair a little bit shorter than chin-long, then I would take some hair gel and do a messy-style aaand last but not least…" She pulled out a tube from a plastic bag. "…some color!"

"Hair dye! Y-you wanna put dye in my hair?" Max gasped.

"Well, yeah! At least one or two streaks, not everything. C'mon Maxi, it will look great!"

"I-I don't know. What if my parents won't approve with it and totally freak out?"

Chloe looked at her for a while, obviously weighing the odds of Max's parents to go all ballistic on them, but finally came to a compromise. "Okay, first of all, this is just instant-dye, it will wash out after a week. Secondly, I will take the full blame for this. So, if your folks freak out, you'll be in the safe-zone and I will get the shit. Hell, I'll even be at your side when you tell them."

Now Max was the one who thought about every possibility. "O-okay. B-but just one streak." she said with some concern.

The brunette girl's answer painted a wide, mischievous grin on Chloe's face. "Fuck yeah!" she cheered. "But I have one last request. You have to close your eyes until I'm finished!"

Another big sigh escaped Max's mouth as she shut her eyes. "Fine."

"Alrighty then…let's start!" Chloe said and began her work, while she hummed one of her favorite rock songs.

' _Jeez, I just hope that Chloe doesn't mess around with my hair too much. Normally, I don't like radical changes, but I think it is time to take a big step forward. My life has changed completely in merely a few weeks and I think that I'd survive a new hair cut and some dye. I just hope that mom and dad won't freak, 'cause I'd never hear the end of it. Gosh, Chloe really brings out my rebellious side…Well, at least as rebellious as I can be._ '

"Ooookay. Done!" Chloe spoke after some time, although Max couldn't tell how long it actually took.

"Can I open my eyes now, 'cause it's hard to not fall asleep." the brunette mentioned with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

"Nope! We have to wait until the dye has settled in, then we have to wash your hair and dry it. So, just relax while I put some dye in my hair too."

After some more time went by, and Max really almost fell asleep and off the chair because of exhaustion, her hair was finally ready. Chloe placed the smaller girl in front of the mirror, embracing her shoulder. "Okay Maxi, ready?" Max nodded cautiously. "On my mark! Three…two…one…mark!"

Max opened her eyes and at first, everything was blurry and blinding. After some blinks, the reflections in the mirror became clear and she could see her hair. She covered her mouth with a gasp, clearly taken by full surprise.

"Looking great, huh?" Chloe said with a big smile.

Lacking words, Max just nodded and brushed with her fingers through her new-styled hair. It was like Chloe had told her. Chin-long, messy-style and one bright orange-dyed streak.

' _Wowser! That is the first time in my life I actually feel like I'm cool. If this doesn't give me some confidence, nothing else will._ '

"I'll take your silence as a compliment, then?"

A nod was everything Max could reply, but as she shifted her gaze to Chloe, her eyes became wide in horror. The brunette girl gasped as she's reminded of her last vision. "Ch-Chloe…your hair! Wh-why are you having a blue-dyed streak?"

Completely taken by surprise, Chloe gazed at her friend quizzically. "Uhm…you know that blue is my fav color, right? Why are you so freaked about it? I mean, does it look shitty or…"

"No…no, but…" Max stammered taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. ' _Okay Max, calm down! This blue streak doesn't confirm your vision. Chloe was older and had more than one dyed streak. And remember, you stayed at her side; you stopped it from happening!_ ' she thought, now trying to give her friend a warm smile. "Sorry for my stupid reaction, I was just overwhelmed how cool you are looking now."

Chloe gave her friend another tight and long hug. "Thanks Maxi!" The taller girl broke the hug again and glanced at Max with the warmest smile possible. "So, how about a movie and some grub?"

For Max it was like her prayers had been heard. "Are you reading my mind?" she joked.

"I just know you long enough, Miss Eat-a-lot." Chloe mocked back.

Giving her a soft push on her shoulder, Max rolled with her eyes. "You know that this is my upcoming growth-spurt."

"Yeah, right. You say that for two years now and you still haven't caught up to me. Look at the growth-chart my dad…" Abruptly, Chloe went silent, staring into empty space, her eyes welling up.

Not wasting any time, Max instantly pulled Chloe into another tight hug, rocking her. She knew that no words were needed in this situation, because it wasn't the first time Chloe had this kind of attack. The only thing that could bring her back was closeness; someone Chloe could hold on to. And the only person suited for this was Max.

With every passing moment, Chloe calmed down more and more. She became more relaxed, her breathing steadied and she returned the hug. This was the sign for Max that everything was okay again. "How about we order a pizza, hmm?" the brunette girl whispered into Chloe's ear.

"Sounds great." she answered in a low voice with a sniff. "My treat."

"Bite me! My treat, 'cause you already styled my hair and while we're waiting for the grub, I wanted to skype with my parents and show them my new hair-cut."

Chloe instantly broke the hug again. "You're shitting me, right?"

Now Max was the one with the mischievously smile. "Nope! I just want to bring this behind us. I mean, it doesn't matter if we tell them today or tomorrow, am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right." she sighed. "I suggest that you take a shower now and I'll order the pizza. The same as always?"

"And again, you read my mind."

* * *

A beeping sound chimed from Max's new laptop, signaling the girls that there was an incoming call. Both took a seat in front of the computer. "Ready?" Max asked.

"Ready!" Chloe answered her with a nod.

Max clicked the symbol to take the call and after a short moment the faces of Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield appeared on the screen.

"Hi mom, hi dad!" the small girl greeted them with a sweet voice.

"Hi kiddo, hi Chloe!" Ryan greeted back with a warm smile.

Vanessa instead, just leaned towards their screen, taking a closer look. "Maxine, what happened to your hair?"

Brushing through her hair again, Max averted her parent's gaze. "Yeah, this is why I wanted to skype with you. I…uhm…I got a new hair-cut. And…and Chloe too. S-so, what are you saying?"

Vanessa and Ryan looked at each other for some time, like they were discussing their answer telepathically.

' _Please don't freak! Please don't freak! Please don't freak!_ ' Max thought, searching with her already clammy hand Chloe's and squeezed it after she found it.

Chloe watched Max from the corner of her eyes as she suddenly felt her friend's hand. She knew that Max was pretty tense and therefore she was ready to support her if necessary.

"I think…" Max's dad began, now turning his head towards the cam again with a warm smile. "…you both look very cool!"

"I agree." Vanessa added surprisingly, although her smile was more forced than warm. "You two look so cute! Who did it? Mr. Edwards?"

"Uh…nope, that would be me." Chloe said, shyly waving with her free hand.

"Well, I think you got talent, Chloe." Ryan praised his daughter's friend.

"Thanks!" she returned with a big and proud grin.

"How was your first day in school after 3 weeks, Maxine?" Vanessa changed the topic.

"Same as always." was Max's plain response.

' _I know that this is just my I-don't-wanna-talk-about-all-the-shit-that-happens-in-school-answer, but I neither wanna talk about Taylor nor the other shitty stuff._ '

"Max…" her dad said seriously. "You know that you can tell us everything. So, is there anything you want to talk about?"

Again, Max averted her parents gaze. She was about to tell them about what Principal Hargrove told her as, suddenly, Chloe intervened. "Okay, listen, Max is pretty busted. She had a long day and just wants to hit the sack. Right Maxi?"

Thankful for her support, Max entwined her fingers with Chloe's and brushed over her hand, making the blonde blush a bit. "Yeah, nothing happened that can't be told another day. Mom, dad, I'm really very tired and I have to get up early, so…"

"That's alright, kiddo!" Ryan said.

"Yeah, no worries, munchkin! We'll just talk tomorrow again, okay?" Vanessa added.

Sighing internally that she'd dodged that bullet, Max gave her parents a warm smile. "Thanks! Well, see you tomorrow then. I miss you two!"

"We miss you too, my little munchkin. Always take good care of yourself, listen to Joyce and Chloe…please, keep her safe!" Vanessa said with some tears in her eyes.

"Will do, Vanessa!"

"Good night!" Max spoke with a joyful voice, despite she felt super sad.

"Good night!" Max's parents singsong in unison, waving before the screen went black.

What followed was a moment of silence, broken by Max's sobs after some time. Chloe reacted without hesitation and took Max into a comforting hug.

"I miss them so much, Chlo." the brunette cried into her best friend's shoulder.

"I know, Maxi." Chloe whispered, petting her back. "Why didn't you tell them about what Hargrove told you?"

Max broke the hug, looking into Chloe's deep-blue eyes sternly. "Because it would've been a reason to move to Seattle."

"Max…" Chloe sighed, gazing at her lap. "Maybe it isn't such a bad idea for you to move back to your folks." She raises her sight again to look into the, with fresh tears filled and unbelief radiating eyes of Max. "I-I see how you're hurting; how you almost break under this pressure. Damn Maxi, I can't take it anymore, seeing you like this! I…I lo…" Chloe exhaled deeply, stood up and was about to leave the room, but decided to stay anyway. "I like you too much to see you in this pain!"

Max sat there in silence, overthinking everything. She closed her eyes and in a matter of milliseconds the pictures of her visions came into her mind. "NO!" she shouted at the blonde girl, who startles because of this sudden outbreak. "I can't and I won't leave you! Dammit Chloe, you know very well that we need each other! That I need you!"

"Yeah…" was everything Chloe said as she opened the door and wanted to leave, but she turned around one last time, her eyes misty. "I need you too! G'night, Maxi!" After she closed the door, Chloe leaned against it, tears running down her cheeks. "More than you know." she whispered, inaudible for Max.


	7. Chapter 7: Beat the bullies, part 1

**Author's Notes:**

 **The next two chapters are going to be the darkest of the whole story so far.** ** **Although, there will be no explicit content** , if you're sensitive to topics like bullying, physically and/or mentally abuse, just be cautious!**

 **But don't worry, these topics won't be the main canon and I don't want to turn this into an M-Rated story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Beat the bullies, part 1  
**

An annoying melody from her phone woke Max from her deep, but restless slumber. With a groan she turned on her back, shut off the alarm and opened her reddened eyes slowly.

' _Ugh! Four hours of sleep are definitely not enough for me. I still wonder why Chloe acted so strange last night. She literally barricaded herself in her room and I think I even heard her crying. I need to ask her as soon as I see her, otherwise it will give me another sleepless night.'_

With another groan, Max slowly stood up, stretched her limbs and let out a big yawn. Like the day before, she walked like a zombie, first to the drawer to get some fresh clothes and then into the bathroom.

Despite her grogginess and bad mood, Max couldn't suppress a smile as she saw her new hair-cut in the mirror.

' _Wowser! It still looks amazing, even after such a shitty night. Chloe really knows how to style.'_

Max splashed some cold water into her face, fixed one or two stray streaks of hair and put on her daily armor: some blue-jeans, a pink shirt and a grey hoodie.

' _I think a change of my clothing is next on my big list of style changing._ '

It knocked on the door and Chloe's voice chimed from the other side. "Hey Maxi, can I come in?"

' _Okay, here she is. Let's hope that she's in the mood to talk._ ' Max thought, unlocked and opened the door.

Chloe gave her friend a short "Morning!" with a wry smile as they looked at each other. Max could see that she had a rough night too. Her strawberry-blonde hair was a complete mess and her eyes were red from a lot of shed tears. Normally, Chloe was someone who's always full of energy, no matter if it was early in the morning or late at night. But this time she was more like Max, groggy and slow moving, lacking any motivation.

"Morning." Max answered more plainly than she intended to. "Come in!" she added, turned around and went to the sink again to brush her teeth.

"Thanks." Chloe responded in a low tone, entered and closed the door. Just standing there, the blonde gazed at her friend for some time, like she was overthinking what to do next.

Max answered her glance by looking into the mirror, mumbling a "What?" with her toothbrush in her mouth.

"Max…" Chloe began with a sigh, her shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry about freakin' out last night. It was…"

"It's okay, Chlo. I mean, seeing me having a meltdown and my parents…" Max replied after spitting out the foam.

"I-it was not just that. It…" Chloe let out a deep sigh again, dropped her gaze and wrapped her arms around her body, a gesture Max never saw her doing before.

' _She looks so weak; so fragile, like something really heavy is burdening her. I think it would help if she'd just let it out._ '

Max touched Chloe's shoulders, making the blonde girl looking into the doe-eyes of her friend again. "Chlo, what is going on? Since last night you act so strange. I…I've been up all night, because I was so worried. Please Chloe, just tell me!"

"I-I wanna tell you, it's just…I'm scared, Max. Scared about how you might react. Scared that it will change everything between us. I…" Chloe said, hugged herself even stronger and began to cry.

"Chloe…" Max gasped and took her crying friend into a close hug. "You know that no matter what you're gonna tell me, you'll always be my friend. Just say it! Share your burden with me. That's what best friends are for." the smaller girl told her with a soothing voice.

Chloe nodded, burying her head deeper into Max's shoulder. "Max, I'm…I think I…"

A strong knocking on the door let both girls startle and break their hug. "Max, Chloe! If you two want some breakfast you better hurry up or else I'm gonna be late!" Joyce's voice chimed from outside the bathroom.

"Just a minute!" Max responded, but shifted her focus on Chloe again, who just stood there, eyes fixed on the ground. "Chloe, you wanna…?"

"No." she said plainly, shaking her head. "We…we better talk about this after school."

"But…"

Chloe raised her gaze and looked at her friend sternly. "Max, I don't wanna talk about this in a rush, okay? It's too important."

"Okay." Max answered in a calm tone. "Listen, Chlo, I need to get going, 'cause I wanna take some shots of the sunrise."

Giving her a wry smile, Chloe gave Max a soft push on her shoulder. "Yeah, do that, you little photo-geek! We see us in school then."

"Mh-hm. Lunch break. Special spot. I'll bring the food." the brunette girl spoke with a smile.

"Thanks, by the way, for the pizza you left on my doorstep."

"No biggie, I thought that you might need some soulfood, and it was yours anyway. Pepperonis are just yuck!"

"You just don't know what's good for you!" Chloe told her with an impish grin, starting to take off her pajamas, what made Max turn around and leaving the bathroom in a hurry, nearly colliding with Joyce.

"What are you two doing in there?" the tall woman asked.

"Getting ready for the day?" Max answered, clearly avoiding the topic about Chloe's strange behavior.

' _If Chloe has a problem that she doesn't want to talk with me about, then she definitely doesn't wanna tell Joyce about it. Or at least she should tell her in person._ '

"This early? Normally you two aren't up for another half an hour." she said suspiciously.

"I wanna take some shots of the sunrise, so…"

Joyce scoffed. "I should've known that the only thing that gets you out of bed this early has something to do with photography. Well, then don't let me stop you and if you're hungry, just take some of the muffins I made yesterday." she said and continued her way into the bathroom.

' _This day is gonna be exhausting!_ ' the small girl thought, grabbed the needed stuff from her room, plus some muffins from the kitchen and left the house.

* * *

The old mansion wasn't far away from Chloe's home, but still an exhausting walk up the hill. As Max reached the rusty and withered gate, she breathed heavily.

' _Well, here I am. And where is Taylor? I better text her._ '

 _Max: Hey Taylor, I'm at the gate. Where are you?_

While waiting for her friend's reply, Max turned her gaze towards the bay. The sun wasn't up yet, but the already reddened sky painted the scenery in a beautiful color.

"Wowser!" Max whispered, took out her cam and made her first shot. "Never thought that this location is so awesome." she spoke to herself, taking another picture. Her phone chimed in her pocket.

 _Taylor: Inside._

Max's eyes widen in surprise. ' _Inside?! I thought we just meet here and do the shots from the surrounding area._ ' she thought, answering Taylor's message.

 _Max: I thought we take the shots in front of the house._

 _Taylor: From the rooftop we'll have an amazing view!_

 _Max: I'm not the breaking-and-entering-type._

 _Taylor: C'mon girl. No risk, no fun!_

' _Why does anybody want to bring out my rebellious side? But she's right. you have to take some risks if you want the best shots._ ' Max thought with a sigh and typed a reply.

 _Max: Is there an open door or…_

 _Taylor: Hole in the fence, about 5 feet left from the gate. Meet me at the front door._

Max searched and found the improvised entrance. ' _Well, here goes nothing._ ' the small girl thought, her nervousness at a peak. She took a last look around and crawled through the hole. Boughs and thorns of the wild grown bushes scratched over her bare skin. One or two times, her hair and the sling of her bag got caught in the overgrown thicket, until she finally reached the paved way that leaded up to the house.

' _I bet my hair looks messy now. Duh, Max! You have a messy-style anyway. And again, thanks Chloe!_ _But honestly, this is quite fun. Too bad, that Chloe isn't here to share this adventure with me._ '

As Max reached the entrance she's startled. "Jasmine!" she gasped as she stared at the black-haired girl, who stood there with crossed arms and a devilish grin on her face. Max took a few steps back, only to run into two of her cronies who were taking her into a tight hold.

"Surprise!" the chubby girl singsonged, followed by an evil snickering in which the other girls joined in.

Max's gaze scanned the area in order to evaluate her chances, but her sigh just fixed on a blonde girl behind Jasmine Graves. "Taylor?! Wh-what is going on? W-why…"

"Oh Maxine, let me stop your tiny train of stupid questions right there." Jasmine said with a wide and victorious grin, walking towards Max with small steps. "Taylor wants to be one of us, the cool girls, and not such a loser like you are. So, she told me yesterday that she met a small, geeky wannabe-photographer, who was actually nice to her. And I thought to myself that this could only be our little Maxine Cockfield, and I was right."

She now stood directly in front of Max, her grin now even wider. "I told you that you're gonna pay for what you said about my dad." she hissed and before Max even knew what was happening, Jasmine's fist punched right into her belly with full force, making the small girl groan. The pain was so intense that Max's legs couldn't support her anymore and she fell to the ground as the two lackeys failed to hold her entire bodyweight.

Lying on the ground, Max gasped for air, trying to suppress the throbbing pain that went through her body.

"Look at you! You're a disgrace. Pathetic!" Jasmine continued, walking around the Max in a slow pace. "You really think that someone like Taylor wants to be your friend? That a new hair-cut and some dye makes you cool, huh?" The black-haired girl kneeled down beside Max, grabbed her hair and pulled her head up, making her cry out in pain. The freckled girl was forced to look into the brown eyes of her nemesis again. "Not so tough anymore when your little doggy Chloe isn't around, aren't ya? Now, just say to me that you're sorry and that you're my bitch." she whispered in her ear in a vicious tone.

"F-f-fuck you!" Max replied with a weak voice, holding Jasmine's gaze.

The bully's face turned beet-red out of anger. She let Max's head drop to the ground, so that it hit the pavement hard, making the small girl covering it with her hands. Jasmine Graves stood up and used the opportunity to kick Max in her now uncovered belly and chest, repeatedly.

Every hit sent a wave of more intense pain through Max's body. Every kick made her groan and as Jasmine's foot hit her chest, the small girl cried out in agony.

"JAZZ, STOP IT!" Taylor shouted and shoved Max's tormentor aside to make her stop. Her eyes were red from crying.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Jasmine blurted at her.

"I should ask you the same. You told me that you wanted to play her a prank, this…" She pointed at Max who lied on the ground, winding and whining. "…is not a prank, this is torture and Max doesn't deserve this!"

"WRONG!" Jasmine yelled, closing in on her and grabbed the blonde by the collar of her jacket. "This bitch talked shit about my dad and is a nuisance! She's a loser; a lowlife and we treat her like one. And now YOU have the choice: be with us or join her!" With these hissed words she raised her fist as a threat.

Taylor wanted to say something; wanted to stand her ground, but looking into Jasmine's anger radiating eyes and the threat of being beaten up like Max, she faltered, lowered her gaze and stayed silent.

"That's what I thought." the chubby girl commented Taylor's absence of words with a scoff and released her. "I understand that you don't want to get your hands dirty, yet. So,…" she kneeled down again, rummaged through Max's bag and brought forth her instant-camera, giving it to Taylor who glanced at it. "…let's start with something easy. Smash it."

"What?!" the blonde girl gasped in surprise. "Jazz, I-I can't, this cam means a lot to her."

"So?" the bully retorted with a shrug, her arms crossed.

Taylor's gaze shifted between Jasmine, the cam in her hands and Max, who was now looking at her with a pain grimaced face too, begging her silently not to do it. And after some moments the blonde finally decided to make a stand against Jasmine.

"DO IT!" the chubby girl screamed suddenly at Taylor, who startled and let drop Max's cam accidently as it slid from her already clammy and shaky hands.

Max watched in horror how her precious cam fell to the ground in slow-motion. It was like time's flowing like thick honey. Every positive memory linked with that camera rushed through the small girl's head. How happy she was as her parents gave it to her on her 10th birthday. Each and every photo she took with it. How Chloe never understood her passion for photography, but nonetheless posed for every shot she took of her and it were a lot of shots.

As the cam hit the old stones, it broke into bits and pieces with a clattering sound. Max dropped her head and started to cry again, while Taylor gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

Jasmine and the other girls laughed out loud. "I think she learned her lesson. Nice job, Taylor." She smiled, satisfied with her doing, and flicked with her finger. "C'mon girls!"

But Taylor didn't move. Shocked about what she'd just done to the one person, who - besides her mom - ever treated her nicely, without expecting anything in return, she started to cry.

"What a pussy." Jasmine scoffed, turned around and left the abandoned estate with her pose. What remained, were two crying girls.

After some time, Taylor reached out with her hand, touching Max's shoulder. "Max…I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know that…that she would do something like this. I…"

"Go away, Taylor. Leave me alone." Max said quietly between some sniffs.

"B-but I…Max…" the blonde stammered.

Now Max raised her head and looked at Taylor with a mixture of fury, sadness and disappointment. "I said…go…AWAY!"

Crying even harder, Taylor passed Max and ran away.

Clouds were now covering the morning sky, hiding the sunrise Max originally wanted to take pictures of. Now all alone, Max stayed on the ground, the emotionally and physically pain she was into were too much to stand up. She hugged her legs and cried again. "Chloe…I need you…please…help me…"

* * *

Unaware of the amount of time that had passed, Max finally managed to get up. Every part of her body hurt, especially the left side of her chest. She tried to stand up, but failed. So she crawled towards her broken camera, and as she picked up the pieces of this well of fond memories she sobbed again.

The freckled girl put every bit she could find into her bag, hoping deep inside that it could be repaired, although she knew better. It was destroyed beyond repair.

First raindrops fell from the dark and cloudy sky, as Max finally found the strength to stand up. She slowly walked towards the spot where the hole in the fence was located, right hand holding her left side. With every step a burning pain emerged from her chest, breathing was hard. She finally reached the spot, got on all four and started to crawl through the thicket again. This time it was even harder, because the brunette girl's movements were slow and she almost too weak to free herself from the grasp of the wild plants. More than one time she was about to give up; to just lie down and stay there.

But she couldn't! Chloe needed her and she wanted to be with Chloe! Thinking about this, Max gathered all her strength and reached the fence.

After she finally left the estate, Max leaned against the fence, taking a break. Her jacket was ripped and her freckled face bruised and cut.

The rain was already intensifying as Max thought about what she should do next. Going to the hospital: too far away. Going home: a possibility, but Chloe was on her way to school and Joyce at work. Only one logical possibility was left: school, because it had an infirmary and Chloe was there too.

Max hissed and groaned as she started to make her way towards her school. She had no sense of time, felt weak and cold, just kept on walking and walking, until she'd almost reached her High School, completely drenched by the cold rain.

"Maxi?!" Chloe's surprised voice chimed from behind and as Max turned around, everything rushed over her again. Her face grimaced and big, hot tears were mixing with cold water on her face. Now that she finally saw her only hope, all strength left Max.

"Shit!" Chloe cursed silently, jumped off her skateboard, darted towards Max and caught her before the small girl could collapse and hit the ground.

Both girls sat on the ground, while Max buried her head as deep as possible into Chloe's chest and cried out loud. All the blonde girl could do was to caress her friend's back and rock her softly. "Sssh. I'm here, Maxi. I'm here…I'm…" she said in a soft and comforting voice, but couldn't suppress to sob herself.

Chloe broke the long hug, after Max had calmed down as much as possible. She looked deep into her friend's doe-eyes and brushed over her cheek. "What happened? What monster did this to you?" the blonde girl asked, trying to not burst into tears again as she recognized the bruises and scratches on Max's freckled face.

"J-Jasmine…she…oh Chloe!" was all she could stammer, before the brunette girl pressed her head against Chloe and started to sob again.

From one moment to the other, Chloe's expression changed. At first it was worried and sad, but now it became just emotionless. She stared into empty space, her once caressing hands became clenched fists. "Jasmine!" she hissed with gritted teeth.

"C'mon Max. Let's get you to the infirmary!" Chloe spoke, now looking at her best friend with a warm smile again. Max nodded in agreement. Chloe helped her up and supported her on their way to the infirmary.

* * *

Chloe knocked at the white door with a red cross on it. A few seconds later it is opened by a young woman in her late twenties. Her long hair was black with a wild mixture of different colored streaks, bound into a ponytail. She also had some piercings and a sleeve-tattoo that could be clearly seen, because she always wore her white robe with rolled up sleeves. The black clothes under the white garment perfected the emo-look. "Hey Chloe, 'sup?"

"She needs your help, Audrey." Chloe answered sternly, carrying Max inside.

"Holy shit! What happened to her?" Audrey Spencer, the school's nurse, said in surprise as she saw Max's bruised face and bad condition.

"Jasmine Graves." the blonde girl replied plainly as she sat Max down on the bed and placed herself right beside her. The small girl laid her head on her best friend's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"This stupid, little bitch!" the nurse cursed, while sitting down onto a rolling stool and began to take a closer look at Max. "Okay, firstly, you two should get rid of your wet clothes to prevent hypothermia."

The two girls obeyed and stripped off their jackets. "Chloe…c-can you help me, please?" Max said as she tried to get rid of her soaked hoodie and shirt.

Without any hesitation, Chloe helped her. And as she lifted the brunette girl's undershirt over her head, she froze. Her expression became emotionless again and hot tears were forming in the corners of her eyes as she touched one of the blue spots on her best friend's belly.

"Holy fuck!" Audrey gasped out, covering her mouth as she saw Max's completely bruised body. "I know I shouldn't curse in front of students, but this…" she continued and shook her head, giving the two girls some blankets.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Chloe asked, putting the blanket around Max's shoulder, who gave her a weak smile and laid her head on the blonde's shoulder again.

"I guess so, but I can't treat her here. Because this…" The nurse pointed at a big, blue and swollen spot on the left side of Max's chest. "…is at least one fractured rib. And believe me, in my time as a nurse I saw enough broken bones for a lifetime." She sighed before she continued. "I have to call an ambulance and get her to the hospital. There they can do some x-ray and look if she has any internal bleeding."

"Do that." Chloe stated, gave Max a kiss on her head and pushed herself from the bed. "Take good care of her. She…she means the world to me." she told the nurse on her way out of the infirmary.

Audrey nodded and Max gazed at the blonde quizzically. "Chloe, where are you going?"

Cold and empty looking eyes glanced at Max. "I'm gonna make sure that something like this never happens again!" Chloe answered and left the room without another word.

"This little brat went too far this time. Principal Hargrove's gonna bust her ass for sure." the black-haired woman said while she was rummaging through a pile of paper. "Damn, where did I put this fucking number?" she mumbled to herself. "Y'know, normally, I treat some bruises, scratches, sprained wrists and ankles, and maybe the one or other bumped balls from Chloe's skater-posse. A Band-Aid here, a painkiller there, but no hospital needed. But your stuff is serious and…"

Wondering about the complete silence of her patient, Audrey turned around, only to see that Max was now bend over, holding her head in her hands, while blood dripped from her nose onto the floor.

"Shit!" Audrey cursed and hurried towards Max.


	8. Chapter 8: Beat the bullies, part 2

**Chapter 8: Beat the bullies, part 2**

The piercing pain was indescribable; far worse than everything she felt before, including a fractured rib. Max closed her eyes and held her head tight, like she feared that it might literally explode any second, if she didn't hold it together.

Suddenly, the pain was gone. The small girl opened her eyes again and scanned everything in her sight. Only to see, that she stood in the crowded hallway of her school. It looked like every student was in this very hallway, waiting for something to happen. Max could hear single words, like 'Jasmine Graves', 'Chloe Price', 'kill' and 'amok'.

' _Where am I? Did I pass out? What is going on here?_ '

The small girl tried to move, but she couldn't. Actually, she couldn't do anything. It felt like she was just a bystander in her own body.

The crowd parted in front of her and made way for Chloe, who was escorted by two policemen, her hands cuffed behind her back. Her white shirt splattered with red droplets. A sudden feeling of sadness rushed through Max. She felt how she started to cry and without any command she just run towards Chloe and embraced her into a tight hug.

"Oh Chloe!" the brunette girl cried out, pressing herself even closer to her friend, ignoring the pain in her body.

"Let her go, Miss!" one of the officers commanded, breaking the hug.

Chloe's expression was still cold and emotionless, like she was in shock. "Don't worry, Max. She won't hurt you ever again." she said plainly and was brought away by the policemen.

Max collapsed to the floor, hugging herself, and continued to shed tears. Nobody around took care of her. She felt left alone…without Chloe, she was alone. Her headaches returned, as suddenly her vision blurred, and the noise and chatter of the crowd around her went silent.

* * *

As fast as the headaches came, as fast they were gone again. The noise of dozens of people had disappeared and was replaced by some quiet, whispered chitter chatter. Max felt that she wasn't crying anymore and as her eyes focused again, the small girl saw a different scenery.

The halls of her school had changed into a courtroom. Max sat in the first row. Right in front of her was Chloe, sitting on a table, her back facing the brunette girl. She wore a black suit. Beside her was a man, telling her something.

' _What has happened? Why am I in a courtroom? Is this another vision or even reality? Everything fells so real, like I'm really here. But my body doesn't obey me. It's like I'm trapped in another person.'_

The door at the far end of the room opened and everybody stood up as a man in a long, black robe, probably the judge, entered and took his seat. The chatter in the room died immediately.

Max felt that someone grabbed her hand, holding it tight. She moved her gaze and saw that it was Joyce.

' _She looks so sad; so worried. I've never seen her like that before. Not even after William died._ '

The judge coughed, making Max focus on him again. She felt fear, nervousness and sadness in a wild mixture.

"Chloe Elizabeth Price," the judge began. "You've been found guilty of negligent homicide on Jasmine Veronica Graves. You're hereby sentenced to 10 years of prison at the Portland youth penitentiary. A chance for parole won't be possible until the year 2013."

Hearing this sentence sent a feeling of deep depression and desperation through Max. And while the room was filling with the whispering of the audience again and the judge held a final speech, the young girl just stood there and watched everything around her in slow-motion.

Chloe collapsed onto her chair and started to cry, her body shaking with every sob. The same happened to Joyce. Max felt hot tears running down her cheeks. Her gaze suddenly fixed on a table were a slender guy and a fat, baldy man congratulated each other with a handshake. Seeing those men sent feelings of hate and anger through her entire body.

As Chloe was about to be escorted out of the courtroom, Max darted through the seat rows, completely ignoring the complaints of the other people. The small girl wrapped her arms around her best friend and took her into a tight hug. Both girls stood there, crying in each others shoulder.

"Please, don't leave me! This is not fair!" Max cried out between her sobs.

Chloe started to pet her best friends back, pressing her even closer. "Ssh, I know, Maxi." She replied and softly broke the hug, looking into Max's blue eyes deeply while she brushed over her cheek and gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. You'll see, 10 years will be over in no time, and if I'm lucky, it'll only be half the time. Just keep on living your life and when I'm out of the joint, we will raise hell!" Max gave her a slight nod, leaning into her cubing hand.

"Oh my baby-girl…" Joyce said with a shivering voice, before she couldn't hold back her tears and started to cry again.

Chloe took her mom into tight hug too. "I'm so sorry, mom! I wish…" She sniffed. "I wish I could've been a better daughter."

The tall woman pushed her daughter softly away, still holding her shoulders, and looked at her sternly. "You are a great daughter!" she said with determination. "Just stay strong and remember that there are people here who will always be there and help you!"

"I know." the blonde girl responded before she was escorted out.

And again, Max had to watch how her best friend was brought away; out of her reach. Her headaches came back and her vision blurred again, until everything went dark.

* * *

As before, the darkness was soon displaced by brightness again. The strong headaches vanished and slowly, her sight improved. Instead of being in a courtroom, Max was now in a room with fixed metal tables and chairs, which were spread over the entire place. Some tables were occupied by different people.

' _Where am I now? Wait! Fixed tables and chairs. Barred windows. Parents with their in orange overalls dressed kids. I must be in the visitor's room of a prison!_ '

The metal door on the opposite wall opened with a loud buzzing sound. Again escorted by a guard, Chloe, dressed in an orange overall, walked in. She looked a few years older and her hair was now completely dyed blue.

A big wave of joy rushed through Max as her eyes met with Chloe's. She jumped up and embraced her in a tight and big hug. Both girls started to sob out of joy. "I missed you so much!" she whispered in her friend's ear.

"I missed you too, Maxi!" Chloe responded. They broke the hug, leaned in and their lips collided in a long and very intimate kiss. A warm feeling emerged from the inside of Max's body and filled her very being.

' _Wh-what is going on? Why am I kissing her? I-I know this feeling. Is that how it feels to be in love with someone? Do I love Chloe?_ '

After they'd stopped kissing, both took their seat. "So, how's it going, Maximus?" Chloe asked, leaning forward in expectation.

"Well, Law-School is harder than I thought, but I'll punch through it. I'm happy though that I'm living here in Portland now and will finally be able to visit you as often as possible." Max answered, holding Chloe's hand.

"Yeah, that really rocks!" the blunette cheered, but her expression darkened instantly a moment later. "How's my mom?" she asked sternly.

Max glanced at their hands, her voice low. "She…uhm…she had another breakdown. Happened yesterday evening. She wanted to come, but…"

"I see…" Chloe interrupted her and inhaled deeply. Max raised her eyes again and saw that Chloe stared into empty space, her eyes wet from tears. "This is all my fault." she muttered.

"No, Chloe, it's not." the brunette answered, brushing her hand, but Chloe withdrew it and jumped up.

"Yes it is, Max!" Chloe yelled. The guard was already drawing his Taser-Gun, but Max signed him that everything was alright. She embraced Chloe into another tight hug, rocking her softly as she began to sob. "I was the one who killed Jasmine. I did it! And I left you and mom alone. I left her when she needed me the most. I'm just a stupid fuck-up."

Max broke the hug and brushed the crying girl's cheek. "You are not a fuck-up, you hear me! You know as well as I do that the whole trial was fucked. Normally, you would've received a sentence of only 2 years, but Fat-bastard Graves bribed the judge and the DA. I already have evidences, a shitload of them, and I'm gonna roll up the whole fucking case again to get you out of here!"

"But when, huh? You don't even have your degree, yet. And who the fuck knows how long it will take to revision the whole case." the blunette blurted desperately and sobbed again. "I don't wanna go back in there. They do things to me. Things I…"

"Time's up! C'mon Chloe!" the guard commanded, and grabbed Chloe by her shoulder.

Max held Chloe by her hand and gave the guard an evil glare. "What the fuck, dude! Are you cereal? That weren't even 15 minutes. According to article…"

"Inappropriate behavior." the guard interrupted her. "She yelled and touched a visitor. That's inappropriate behavior and a reason to end the visit. So, stand aside, Miss or your privilege to visit the prisoner will be revoked!"

Max let go of Chloe's hand. She felt anger, deep burning anger. She wanted to scream; she wanted to grab Chloe by her hand again and bail her out of here.

Chloe managed to slip away from the guard's grip, ran towards Max and embraced her into a strong hug. "I love you, Max! I love you with all my heart! Please don't ever leave me!" she spoke between her sobs.

"Never!" the smaller girl answered with a determined voice. "I promise you that I will get you out of here as soon as possible. I love you, Chloe!"

They shared another kiss, before Chloe turned around and followed the guard out of the room.

Max stayed behind and again, she was alone. She felt lonely, desperate, and powerless. Her eyes welled up again as her head began to throb. The visitor's room blurred and pure silence engulfed the small girl, until there was only darkness again.

* * *

Bright daylight and traffic noise broke through the nothingness. Max stood, leaning against a car, in front of a huge, fenced building.

The front gate opened and a tall punk girl walked through it. Her hair was blue, with some mixed colored streaks here and there. She wore a black, ripped jeans, an old sleeveless button shirt with a lose tank top under it. The combat boots she wore stomped on the ground with every step. Her arms were muscular and covered with different tattoos. Although she looked a bit older again and had an extreme style, Max recognized her as Chloe.

Chloe turned around one last time, raised her arms and gave the prison two middle fingers, before she faced Max again, giving her the characteristic mischievous smile.

The warm and comforting feeling of love rushed through the brunette's body as she started to run towards Chloe, jumped at her and pressed her lips on her girlfriend's mouth.

They parted and Chloe looked at Max with a wide smirk. "Damn, babe, I never get used to how sexy you look in your dress!"

"And I can't belief how much your wild punk-rock look turns me on." Max replied.

"Mmh, was that an invitation?"

Max gave the punk girl a shrug and winked. "Maybe. Wanna bail?"

"Fuck yes! So, where's your car?" Chloe asked, taking a look around.

"You're standing in front of it." the smaller woman remarked.

"That's a Prius." Chloe mentioned, making a face of disgust, while she walked to the passenger's door. "Aren't you attorney-folks supposed to drive some fancy-pansy shit like a Mercedes?"

Max sighed and rolled with her eyes as she opened the driver's door. "Firstly, that's a stupid cliché. Secondly, I'm just a small attorney, not the DA…yet."

"Well…" began Chloe as both embarked the vehicle. "You sure kicked a lot of asses for being 'just' a small attorney. How many years has fat-ass Graves to serve?"

"Fifteen, and it wasn't only my doing. Many lawyers worked on this case. Only your release was my accomplishment alone." the brunette answered and started the car.

"Took you long enough." was Chloe's plain comment.

Max stopped the car immediately and gave her girlfriend an evil glare. "What?!"

"Eight years, Max. Eight fucking years! It took you eight shitfucking years to get me out of this hellhole." Chloe yelled at her, holding her glare.

Max knew that Chloe could be moody sometimes, but this time she saw something in her eyes that she never saw before. Something that was more than just anger. And it startled her. She took a deep breath and answered with a calm voice. "Chloe, I know that those eight years sucked like hell; that you literally went through hell. Jeez, Chlo, I suffered with you! Or do you think it was fun for me, seeing you in there, huh?" Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes as Max lost control over her composure. Her voice was shaking. "Every time I visited you, I saw how you broke more and more, and it hurt me. It broke my heart. It broke my heart so much that I gave up photography and decided to become a fucking lawyer instead. Because I knew that they never would let you out on parole, thanks to Graves. And now…I finally got you out and you…and all you do is blaming me for taking so long. That's not fair, Chlo! That's…"

Chloe suddenly took Max into a tight hug and rocked her as she started to cry. "I'm sorry, Max. I'm so sorry. It's this stupid prison. It…it kinda fucked with my mind, and I…I love you Max, and I don't even know how I should repay you for everything you did for me."

"Just be my lovable dork, you dork!" Max mumbled into Chloe's chest.

Again, a stinging headache occurred and the smell of cold smoke, mixed with Chloe's scent vanished.

* * *

Max gazed at herself in the glass door of a cupboard in front of her, while she was doing the dishes. She looked weary, exhausted and depressed.

A door got slammed shut with a loud bang. "MAX! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Chloe's heavy voice chimed through the apartment, accompanied by stomping steps. "There you are! Why didn't you answer me?" she yelled, walking into the kitchen.

Normally, Chloe's voice would've generated the warm feeling of love and joy, but this time it produced only fear and desperation. The smaller woman didn't even bother to turn around as she replied in a clam voice. "Because I made it a rule not to talk to you anymore when you're drunk."

"So now you're ignoring me?"

Max dropped the plate she had in her hand into the sink and leaned her hands on the counter, mustering all strength to keep calm. "No, I'm not ignoring you. I'm just tired of these stupid discussions that we always have when you're drunk. Now, if you wanna talk, go to bed and sober up!"

"You talked to her again, didn't ya?" Chloe suddenly asked with a suspiciously tone in her voice.

Another wave of fear, paired with guilt, rushed through the brunette's body. "I don't know what you're talking about." she answered plainly.

Suddenly, Max's shoulder is grabbed hurtfully and her body got turned around. She now faced Chloe, whose eyes were radiating this strange kind of anger like in the vision before. "Don't lie to me! You called HER again. What was her name? Rita? Ronda?"

"Rachel. Rachel Amber. And she's my client, so I have to call her from time to time."

Max crumbled to the ground as Chloe's flat hand slapped her right in the face with full force. But it hurt her only physically. Emotionally, she felt just dull. A few second later she's grabbed by the collar of her shirt and pulled onto her feet again.

Chloe's face was now right in front of her, their noses almost touching each other. Max could smell the nauseating mixture of alcohol and tobacco as the punk hissed in her face. "I told you not to call her ever again! And yet, you did it anyway. Are you banging her behind my back? Is she the reason why you treat me like shit all the time? Tell me, Max!" But Max didn't respond. She just averted the blunette's gaze until she's slapped in the face and hit the ground again. "Haven't I given you all my love and affection, huh?" Chloe yelled, throwing the already washed up dishes against the wall, where they were smashed into a thousand pieces.

"No, Chloe. You haven't." These words made Chloe to stop in her tracks as Max spoke them with a quiet and shivering voice, while tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Since you're out of prison, everything you did was to yell at me and…and to hit me…and…and…" Her voice failed for a moment as suddenly all emotions rushed over her. "And y-you forced me to…to…" A sob escaped her mouth and as she looked into Chloe's widen eyes, she almost could see some kind of realization. "Whatever kind of feelings there were between us…they're gone. You've changed, Chloe. I tried to ignore it; tried to sit it out; hoped that it would end soon, but it didn't. And I...I just don't love you anymore."

The short glimpse of guilt in Chloe's eyes vanished from one second to another. She darted forwards and took Max's neck into tight grip, which made her groan in pain. "Say this again, bitch!" she hissed.

"Y-you're hurting m-me…p-please…"

"Stop whining and tell me again that you don't love me anymore!"

But all Max did, was to brush over Chloe's cheek. "Wh-what happened to you, Chlo? Where's the caring Chloe I used love? Where's my Captain?"

"You still remember this pirate-crap." the blunette scoffed and turned away. Max dropped to the ground as Chloe let her go. "Stop living in the past, Max. Prison's changed me. It always was about eat or be eaten. Guess on which side the old Chloe stood. Now stop bawling like a fucking baby, clean up this shit and come to bed!"

After Chloe had left the kitchen, Max tried to stand up. Her cheek hurt and she felt dizzy. She gazed at her reflection in the glass door again and saw that she looked even worse than before. The small woman took out her phone with shaky hands and typed a message.

 _Max: She did it again. Can't take it anymore. Gonna end it now. Love u._

In a matter of seconds her text got answered.

 _Rachel: max, don't do it! u r not alone!_

 _Rachel: max! answer me!_

 _Rachel: MAX!_

Her phone started to buzz continuously as she got an incoming call. She just stared at Rachel's ID and the associated picture of a beautiful blonde woman for some time. And there it was again, this wonderful warm feeling of joy and love, but it was instantly suppressed by dullness. "I'm sorry." she whispered and let the phone drop onto the floor, where it kept on buzzing.

She opened a drawer next to her and took out a sharp knife.

"MAX! MOVE YOUR LAZY ASS INTO THIS FUCKING BEDROOM RIGHT NOW!"

Max closed her eyes, took a deep breath and everything went silent.

* * *

Pure darkness surrounded her. Not one sound could be heard. It was the perfect absence of everything.

' _Where am I now? Am I…dead?'_

A faint sound could be heard in the distance. It became louder and louder until it turned into a deafening whistling noise. The headaches returned with full force. She could hear her heartbeat and the streaming of her blood.

All this noise tuned down with every second, until it was replaced by Audrey's voice.

"…scratches, sprained wrists and ankles, and maybe the one or other bumped balls from Chloe's skater-posse. A Band-Aid here, a painkiller there, but no hospital needed. But your stuff is serious and…shit! Max!"

Audrey shook Max, who suddenly sat up with a start. The nurse startled, lost her balance and landed on her butt.

Max scanned the room. Her breathing was fast and her heart raced. "Chloe!" she gasped and then looked at the nurse. "Audrey, h-how long is it that Chloe left?"

"She left maybe a minute ago…wait, don't you remember?"

Not paying any attention to the black-haired woman's question, Max jumped from the bed and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Audrey. "Max, wait! Fractured ribs, unconsciousness, nose bleeding and memory loss. You're not going anywhere until a doctor give's you a clean bill of health!"

"Audrey, you don't understand. I have to stop Chloe!" Max said desperately, trying to free herself from the nurses grip.

"Why? She's about to report the attack on you to the Principal."

Max grabbed Audrey on both shoulders and looked into her brown eyes deeply. "Audrey, she's not going to the Principal."

"Shit!" the woman muttered as she understood and let go of Max, who left the infirmary.

' _Chloe learned my schedule every school year. Especially the classes I shared with Jasmine. She always wanted to make sure that nothing happens to me._ '

Completely ignoring the pain and exhaustion that ran through her entire body, plus the fact that she was only wearing a blanked and her panties, Max sprinted through the hallways of her school. She knew where Chloe was heading; what she was about to do.

 _'_ _This last vision. Was it real? No, it couldn't be! It was just a pure nightmare. Chloe would never hurt me like this. I refuse to belief that it was her! And if it was true, then I have to stop it!_ '

Tears flowed down from her cheeks as she remembered these last visions; this chain of events that would happen, if she doesn't stop Chloe.

She'd almost reached the classroom as the sound of falling chairs and tables, shrieks and gasps chimed throughout the school building. And above all, Chloe's hate-fueled yelling.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!"

"HOW DOES IT FEEL, HUH? HAVIN' A GOOD TIME?"

"WHY AREN'T YA LAUGHING?"

Max reached the classroom and what she saw engulfed her mind with horror. Jasmine Graves laid on her back, whining in agony, while Chloe sat on her belly. She was holding the chubby girl on her collar, giving her now and then a punch. The whole class, including the teacher, just stood aside, watching the whole scene. Some students where even filming it with their phones.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE HER ALONE!" Chloe yelled again, let Jasmine's head hit the ground and started to give her a barrage of punches. Every one followed by a word. "DON'T…EVER…TOUCH…MY…MAX…AGAIN!"

At first, Max just stood in the doorframe, not moving a muscle. Seeing Chloe in this rage; seeing her beating someone up; frightened the young girl. But there was no time to lose. One of the following punches would kill Jasmine and therefor leading into a dark future for both of them.

Remembering this future, Max finally snapped out of it, jumped forward, wrapped her arms around Chloe and pulled her off Jasmine. "Chloe stop!"

"No, Max! She hurt you! She deserves it! Lemme go!" the blonde yelled, struggling against her best friend's hold.

Max felt how her body was about to give up. The pain and the exhaustion were about to overwhelm her. In pure desperation, the small girl gathered every bit of strength she had left, grabbed Chloe by her shoulders and wrestled her down. Max didn't know how she did it, but with a smooth move, she managed to sit on Chloe and pinned her down. Now the young girl looked deep into her best friend's hate radiating eyes. "Chloe, just stop it, please! You'll kill her if you keep doing this. And if you kill her, you…you'll…" Thinking about what she experienced, Max started to sob. "…you will go to prison a-and then you'll change and…and…Oh Chloe, please, don't hurt me…please…d-don't hurt me!" She didn't care that everyone was staring at them; that she was almost naked. What mattered to her was Chloe. Her best friend. Her love. Exhaustion eventually took over and Max collapsed onto Chloe's chest, crying every bit of physically and emotionally pain out.

Two arms embraced the brunette girl's shaking body. "I'd never hurt you, Maxi." Chloe whispered and started to cry, too.

* * *

"Two broken ribs, three broken fingers, one broken cheekbone, one broken nose, two chipped out teeth and a various number of bruises and cuts." Principal Hargrove read out and then gazed at the 5 persons at the conference table in front of her. "I'd expected such a list after a heavy fight in a shabby bar down at the pier, but not at a Junior High School."

While the black-haired woman tried to stay calm at first, she suddenly lost her temper, threw the list on the table, broke the pen she had in her hands in half and started to yell. "During my whole educational career, nothing like this ever happened. Thanks to social media, this whole bullshit is now all over the internet and the school-board is about to bust my ass, saying that I lost control over my school. Godammit!" Hargrove stood up and threw the two halves of the pen in the next corner. After she took some deep breathes, she eyed every single person in front of her. "Now all I want to know is how something like this could happen." she said with an almost threatening voice, leaning on the table. "Anyone?"

Since her office was too small for 6 persons, they shifted this meeting to the conference room of the school. On one side of the table sat Max, Chloe and Joyce. On the other side Jasmine Graves and her father Gordon, a bald man with a heavy body, dressed in a suit. It was the late evening of this eventful day. Despite Max's and Jasmine's rather serious injuries, Principal Hargrove and the school-board insisted to bring some light into this incident as fast as possible, especially after it went viral over the internet. Of course, the doctors had to give the two girls a go, first.

"For me the case is clear. This…girl…" Gordon Graves almost spitted out, pointing at Chloe. "…beat up my poor, innocent daughter."

"Pft, innocent…yeah, right." Chloe scoffed, arms crossed. Her right hand was in a bandage.

"You finally have something to say, Miss Price." Principal Hargrove addressed the blonde girl.

Chloe sighed and rolled with her eyes. "What is there to say?" she blurted out. "This bitch…"

"Chloe, language!" Joyce interrupted.

"Oh, excusez moi, this FUCKING bitch beat up Max without any reason and broke two of her ribs. Neither was this the first time she bullied her nor was Maxi the first victim. She had it commin', nuff said!"

"This is outrageous!" Gordon Graves yelled and stood up. "This brat is lying! There is no evidence that my daughter ever did something like this."

"If you call my daughter a brat ever again, we will have another incident here, Gordon!" Joyce fired back, getting up, too.

"Shut it and sit down!" Hargrove intervened and both parents sat down again. "Let me make one thing clear. I don't wanna hear any insults or unnecessary accusations in this room, especially not from one of my students! But Miss Price said the truth. Your daughter and her gang, Mister Graves, are very well known around school. So far, they always got away with everything, because coincidentally nobody saw anything. But this time, we have an eyewitness."

"Who?" the baldy man asked, his fist hitting the desk.

"This person wants to stay anonymous."

"Who says that this person isn't lying and wants to damage my reputation?" he kept pushing.

Hargrove sighed. "Mister Graves, not every human being on this planet lies or wants to mess up your already not so great reputation. Why would a kid do something like that? Besides, the witnesses' statement matches perfectly with Miss Caulfield's, therefor I have no doubts about its validity."

The fat man's fist hit the desk again. "This statement and the witness don't matter. My daughter got deliberately attacked by this delinquent and I want to see some consequences!"

Unimpressed by Mr. Graves' threatening gesture, Principal Hargrove held his angry gaze. "Oh, there will be consequences and that is why we are here. I'll make no secret out of it that the board wants me to make an example."

"Then this farce is a waste of my precious time. This girl is guilty. Just expel her."

Joyce crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave Gordon the most evil glare Max has ever seen. "Then I suggest that your daughter is going to be expelled, too."

"Mrs. Hargrove…" he began.

"MISS Hargrove, Mr. Graves!" the Principal interrupted him.

"I'm sorry. MISS Hargrove, the case is clear." he continued in a very fawning voice. "Miss Price viciously attacked my daughter…"

"Who attacked Max first." Joyce threw in.

"Maybe, but she will receive her punishment at home."

Chloe's mom just scoffed. "Oh, and what will that be? Grounding for a week? Or is she just getting a Volkswagen instead of a Porsche on her 16th birthday?"

"I don't have to take this from a waitress!" he blurted.

"Sue me. Oh wait, witticism isn't a crime. Bummer, now you have to fight without your lawyers." the blonde woman mocked.

Max wasn't paying any attention to the ongoing conversation. Even though the doctors said that she was able to attend this meeting, she still felt very weak and exhausted. Most of the time, she was into deep thoughts about her last visions. And as horrible as they were, the only thing she kept thinking about was this warm feeling she had for Chloe. Before, Max never understood it; didn't know what it was. But now she was sure. Now she knew that she was in love with best friend.

Max gazed at Chloe, who sat there with her typically pissed-off expression. Just seeing her face let her heart skip a beat.

' _She's so beautiful. Now that I'm sure about my feelings I start to see her in a different light. I recognize things that I never paid any attentions before. Gosh, I crush so hard on her! But how do I tell her? What if she isn't into girls or worse, not into me? But in my visions she loved me, too. Ugh, why is everything so complicated?_ '

Again, Gordon Graves' fist hit the table, startling the young girl. Now her gaze shifted to Jasmine, whose face was bandaged multiple times. The black-haired girl looked weak and fragile.

' _I don't know why, but I pity her. Her dad seems to be a giant asshole and always talks about himself, not about his daughter's injuries. And where is her mom? Doesn't she care? My mom freaked as Joyce called her. She cried so hard like I never heard it before. I hope that my parents are here soon, stupid traffic jams!'_

 _'_ _Before the meeting, I saw Jasmine in the hallway. She was crying, but all her dad did was to speak on the phone or tell her that she shouldn't be such a wimp._ '

"This is bullshit!" Chloe suddenly yelled, bringing Max's focus back to reality. She stood up. "Why are you discussing this shit anyway?"

"Chloe, please…"

"No mom. Punish me, expel me, I don't give a fuck! But I won't apologize for what I did! Jasmine hurt one of the kindest people I've ever known, out of no reason. Max didn't do shit do anybody. All she ever did was to take her photos and be friendly to everyone. Why would you hurt someone like her?" Tears flowed down Chloe's cheek as her gaze met Max's. Her voice started to shiver. "Since elementary school she's been bullied for just being her and I never figured out why, because for me, she's always been the best friend I could've wished for, and I promised myself to protect her from harm's way. And thanks to HER…" She pointed at Jasmine, who looked away. "…I've failed. I've failed, because nobody had the guts to stand up against her and her asshole of a father! And that is what I'm gonna do now, I'm making a stand! So, expel me, if you want, but let me say just one more thing: FUCK YOU Graves, you slimy, fat son of a bitch, fuck you and your bunch of degenerated assholes!" Chloe flipped him off, turned around and left the room.

Silence filled the conference room after the door's slammed shut. Principal Hargrove broke the quietness with a cough. "Well…that was…kind of…wow!"

"I've never been offended like this before!" Gordon Graves yelled out loud and stood up.

"I think it was overdue." Joyce commented with a smirk, obviously proud of her daughter.

"You…"

"Sit down and shut it, Graves!" Hargrove instantly intervened.

Max was tired of this fighting and arguing. The only thing that mattered to her right now was Chloe. She stood up and left the room, ignoring everyone else.

* * *

When Chloe was upset, she mostly retreated to a safe and comforting place, like her room, the lighthouse or one of the various secret places she and Max always used. In this case, it was her special spot at school.

As Max reached the abandoned stairs, she spotted Chloe right away. The blonde girl sat at the highest step, her elbows resting on her thighs and her face was buried in her hands.

Just happy about that she'd found Chloe, Max sat down beside the blonde girl, put her arm around her and rested her head on her friend's shoulder. "I knew you would come here."

At first, Chloe didn't even bother to respond or to raise her head. But after some time she sighed. "Max, I want you to go home!"

"I am home, Chlo. Because you're everything I need to be happy, therefor you're my home!" Max said and cuddled herself closer to Chloe.

Suddenly, the taller girl moved away from Max. "No, Max. I-I'm not your home. Your home is in Seattle with your parents."

"What?!" Max gasped in surprise. "Chloe, I-I don't understand."

"Max, you're not safe here. People around me get hurt eventually."

"That is not true and you know it!"

"Oh really?" Chloe blurts. "Time for some reality-check. Bongo kitty: dead. My dad: car crash – boom - dead. You got almost beaten to death. What else do you need, huh?"

"Chlo…"

Chloe withdraws her shoulder as Max tried to touch it and jumped up. "Max, I'm serious here. You said it yourself. I'm gonna hurt you sooner or later, and I…I…look at what I did to Jasmine."

Now Max was the one who got to her feet slowly, walked over to her best friend and met her face to face. "Chloe, I didn't mean it like that, ok?" And again, the younger girl tried to touch her friend and yet again, Chloe backs away.

"It doesn't matter how you meant it. Maxi, I failed you. I failed…me. When I saw you this morning, I…something broke inside of me. It made me realize that…that…" She sighed and turned around to avert her friend's welling up eyes. "J-just go to Seattle. There you will meet other geeky people, who can be better friends than I am."

Max grabbed Chloe's shoulder softly and turned her around again. "What if I don't want to meet other people?" She brushed over her cheek. "What if I just want you at my side?"

Chloe touched her friend's cubing hand with her bandaged one and closed her eyes. At first it seemed like she would lean into it, but instead she put it down. "But I don't want you at my side anymore."

SLAP!

Completely taken by surprise, Chloe held her already reddening cheek and gazed at Max with wide opened eyes.

Max's eyes were filled with tears and her lips were shivering. "This hurt more than any punch or insult Jasmine has ever thrown at me!" She took a few steps back. "You want me out of your fucking life? Fine!" she yelled, turned around and walked away, but glimpsed one last time over her shoulder. "But don't ever expect me to return, you…you…" Her face grimaced and she kept on walking, hugging herself while her body shook from her sobs.

Even several minutes after Max had left, Chloe hadn't changed her position. Her hand was still touching her cheek and she still stared at the point, where Max went out of sight. "I'm sorry, Maxi." she whispered with a trembling voice. A tear flowed down her cheek. "It needs to be. This is the best for both of us. Everything will be fine." she spoke to herself, but deep inside, she knew that those words were just a lie.

* * *

 _October 21_ _st_ _2008_

 _Dear fucking journal, just guess what happened today. Chloe...yes, Chloe…yes, the one and only…yes, my first big crush just shit-canned me. Yes, this stupid bitch just kicked me out of her life. And you wanna know why? Oh this is hilarious: Because she didn't want to hurt me. Can you belief this shit? First I got beaten up by Jasmine, then I had these fucked up visions and then Chloe fucking Price, my best friend and first love, breaks my heart!_

 _Chloe, if you ever read this: you said you didn't want to hurt me, but you did! You hurt me plenty! You fucking moron ripped my heart out of my chest, squeezed every drop of life out of it, threw it in a blender and hit the power-button!_

 _And if this day can't get any better, I just got grounded for one week, because I told my mom that she should mind her own fucking business._

 _I'm done. Done with Chloe. Done with this world. Done with everything._

 _Fuck Chloe! Fuck Arcadia Bay! Fuck Blackwell! Fuck Seattle! Fuck everything!_

 _Maxine Caulfield, going into excessive crying-mode now._


	9. Chapter 9: Childhood memories

**Chapter 9: Childhood memories**

"Max!" Chloe moaned. Her breathing was heavily and her heart raced. The blonde girl opened her eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling.

' _I fantasized about her._ '

She took her hand out of her pajama shorts and glanced at her clammy fingers.

' _This was the first time I did it to myself. I mean, yeah, I fantasized about celebrities and anime characters before, but every time, when I was getting into mood, her beautiful freckled face popped into my mind. The first time it happened, it literally freaked me out, and after that it was just awkward, but today…today I let it happen and…I don't know…it felt really good! No, scratch that. It was amazing!_ '

"Chloe! Wakey, wakey! Eggs and bakey!" Joyce's voice chimed through the house.

The blonde girl rolled onto her side and gazed at a framed picture on the nightstand. It showed her and Max right after their hair styling session.

"I miss you." she whispered and brushed with her fingers over the photo. A tear formed in her eye and dripped onto the pillow.

Wiping away the wet remnant with the back of her hand, Chloe slowly lifted herself off the bed with a big sigh. She let her gaze wander around the room.

' _Is it kinda creepy that I sleep in her room and kiss her picture good night every day since she left? Let alone that I just fucked myself while I was thinking about her in HER bed. Maybe I'm a perv? Better talk about this with my shrink. Yay, nothing beats a fucking therapy-session on an already shitty day.'_

"Chloe, your breakfast gets cold!" Joyce yelled from downstairs.

"Coming, mom!"

' _I better get going, before mom finds out that I crashed in Maxi's room._ '

Letting out a big groan, Chloe stood up and walked into her own room.

' _Damn, I need to tidy up this shithole._ ' she thought, while trying to avoid the mess of splinters, broken glass and destroyed objects that were scattered across the floor.

' _Personal reminder: never thrash your own room! Do it with someone else's stuff to avoid the cleaning.'_

She made her way through the trash, picked some clean clothes from her closet and made her way back.

"Ouch! Fucking shit!" she yelled out as she stepped on a piece of glass, stumbled the last few steps out of the door and closed it violently with a loud bang. Not sure, if there was a piece of glass in her foot, Chloe limped into the bathroom and checked the injured spot.

' _Just a small cut. No splinter. I'm gonna put a Band-Aid on it after the shower_.'

After she'd showered and treated her cut, Chloe headed downstairs into the living room and sat down at the dining table.

"Morning, sweetheart. Now dig in as long as it's hot and tasty." Joyce said and brought her daughter a plate filled with eggs and bacon.

"Thanks mom." Chloe replied plainly and started to eat, her gaze resting on her meal.

Joyce took a seat on the opposite side of the table. "Had a rough morning?" she asked, which is answered with a shrug. "You know, if you'd finally clean up your room, such unpleasant moments could be avoided." And again, she just received a shrug. "Honey, what's wrong? Since Max left, you shut yourself completely in. Your school called and told me that you're showing no interest during classes anymore." As Joyce touched her daughter's arm, Chloe glimpsed at her eventually. "Chloe, I'm worried."

Still, Chloe stayed silent. A tear ran down her cheek and again, her gaze dropped.

"Chloe," Joyce began and brushed over Chloe's cheek. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I know a broken heart when I see one."

These words made the blonde girl to look at her mom again. Her eyes wide opened.

Joyce gave her a warm smile. "Why don't you just call her?"

"And what should I tell her, mom? Should I just apologize for behaving like an asshole? I hurt her, okay? I hurt her so much that she'll never forgive me. I can't even forgive myself. I'm so stupid!" Chloe blurted out and threw her fork on the table. She buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

There weren't much situations when Joyce needed to sooth her daughter, because Chloe has always been a strong and positive character. But this time she needed comfort. She needed a mother. The tall woman embraced her crying daughter into a tight hug and brushed through her hair. "Ssh, it's alright, baby-girl. Let it all out!" And like a dam had broken down, Chloe let out a loud cry into her mother's chest. She cried out every bit of emotion she'd been holding back for the last five weeks.

It took the blonde girl a while to calm down again. "Y'know, Chloe, we all make mistakes. That's a part of our life. Some are small, some are big and some mistakes are so huge that they haunt us. But we have to live with them eventually." She broke the hug softly and looked into her daughters deep-blue, red-cried eyes. "Just call her. Listen to your heart and try to undo your mistake."

"B-but what if she doesn't want to talk with me or tells me that I should go to hell?"

"Then you'll know for sure. And that's way better than living in uncertainty, believe me. But I don't think that she'll do that anyway." Joyce said, stood up and walked over to the counter.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Call it intuition." Chloe's mom replied and started to pack her bag. "I'm off to work now. Don't forget your appointment with Dr. Mortensen today. And I'm getting some groceries for Thanksgiving right after work, so please clean up the kitchen and prepare some dinner for us!"

"Sure thing, mom." Chloe sighed without any motivation. Joyce grabbed her bag and was on her way to the front door as Chloe spoke to her. "Mom? Did you make any mistakes that you'd like to undo?"

The tall woman stopped in her tracks and sighed. "Yes, I did. I called your father to pick me up from the grocery store."

Realizing that she accidently mentioned a very hurtful topic, Chloe stood up from the table, walked to her mom and embraced her from behind. "I don't blame you, mom. I never did. It wasn't your fault." she soothed in a quiet voice.

Joyce held one of her daughter's arms in a tight grip. "Thank you! I love you, Chloe."

"I love you too, mom!"

* * *

"How are you feeling today, Chloe?"

"Like shit."

"And why are you feeling like…shit?"

"Just guess, Doc."

"Well, I'd say that the main reason is still the loss of your best friend Max, isn't it?"

Averting the gaze of Dr. Mortensen, who sat in a cozy chair, Chloe gave him a nonchalantly shrug.

"Chloe, this is our fourth session and honestly, we talked about many topics, except one: Max." said Dr. Mortensen with a slight friendly smile. "I could come with some standard-speeches like 'I want to help you' or 'you can trust me', bla, bla, bla. But, I believe that you should only talk about something when you are ready. And even though I asked you this question four times already, I'm going to ask you again: Are you ready to talk about Max?"

Chloe glimpsed at the doctor for a short moment, before she focused on her hands again and the nodded. "Yes, I'm…I think I'm ready to talk about her."

Giddy as a little child, Dr. Mortensen clapped in his hands and smiled widely. "Very good! Let's get started!" He made himself more comfortable and readied his pen and paper. "I suggest that you start from the beginning. When was the first time you met Max?"

The blonde girl inhaled deeply. First feelings of hurt and yearning rushed through her body as she remembered her first encounter with Maxine Caulfield. "It was back during elementary school. I just turned 8 and Maxi was still 6." A sad smile formed on her face, paired with a scoff. "She was so young and already got bullied. I just had to help this little geek."

* * *

"Hey, gimme back my camera!" a small, freckled, brunette girl yelled in desperation as she tried to get her camera back from a black-haired, chubby girl.

Chloe watched how the small girl was surrounded by four other girls of the same age, who were making fun of her. She hated bullies and especially Jasmine Graves and her meanies.

"Four against one is a bit unfair, don't you think, Jasmine?" Chloe intervened, her arms crossed.

"Get lost, Price, this is non of your business!" Jasmine replied, giving her an evil glare.

The taller, blonde girl simply stepped between Jasmine and her prey. "And what if I don't go away, huh?"

Taken aback by Chloe's unexpected action, the chubby girl took a few steps back. Her voice was trembling out of nervousness. "Then…then…uhm…then my daddy will _suit_ your daddy!"

Chloe burst out into a loud laughter, startling the other mean girls. "Okay…" she began, after she'd calmed down again. "Firstly, it's called _sue_ , not _suit_ , you dumbass. Secondly, I don't care." She snapped the camera out of Jasmine's hands. "Now take your friends and leave her alone, jazzwipe!"

Jasmine's hands were clenched fists and her face turned beet-red as she stomped with one foot on the ground. "I'm going to tell mommy and daddy that you were mean to me and…and that you called me a…uhm…damp-ass."

Again, Chloe laughed out loud. "Yup, do that. Run to mommy and daddy…damp-ass!"

Jasmine turned around and ran away. The other girls first looked at each other quizzically, but decided to follow her after Chloe gave them an evil glare. The only persons that remained were Chloe and the small, freckled girl, who was gazing at the ground.

"Here you go!" said Chloe with a warm smile, reaching the brunette girl the camera.

"Th-thank you!" she answered shyly and took the old cam.

"My name is Chloe, by the way."

"M-Maxine."

"So, you're into photography, am I right?" asked Chloe, which answered with a slight nod. "Well, then you have the unique chance to take a picture of the infamous Captain Bluebeard, scourge of the seven Seas and conqueror of Arcadia Bay!" the blonde girl heroically announced.

Maxine raised her head finally and glanced at the other girl with furrowed eyebrows. "Captain Bluebeard? Who's that?"

"You've never heard of Captain Bluebeard?" asked the taller girl with an expression of unbelief. And as Maxine shook her head, Chloe snipped with her fingers. "Of course, how rude of me. I forgot to make a proper introduction." She bowed and lifted her imaginary hat. "Chloe Elizabeth Price a. k. a. Captain Bluebeard at your service!"

Maxine giggled. "You don't have a blue beard."

"Well, not yet. I mean, I'm just 8…and a girl. Maybe I should glue a blue wig into my face?"

"You're funny!" said the smaller girl and snickered even stronger.

"Yeah, I've been told. Got it from my dad." the blonde girl told her with a shrug and then grinned. "Y'know, Maxine, scourging the Seas and conquering Arcadia Bay all by myself is pretty hard. That's why I'm looking for a first mate. Interested?"

Maxine looked at Chloe with wide sparkling blue doe-eyes. "A-are you saying th-that you wanna be my f-friend?"

"Well, yeah! That's part of the job. So, yay or nay?"

"YAY!" yelled Maxine and embraced Chloe into a hug.

At first, Chloe just stood there, completely taken by surprise, not moving a limb. "Ooookay. Uhm…I'm glad that I make you happy…kinda."

"S-sorry." said Maxine, gazing at the ground again after she broke the hug.

"No biggie, first mate Maxine. Hmm, that doesn't sound right, yet. We need to shorten your name. How about just Max?"

"S-sounds okay."

"Alright! From this day on, your hereby known as first mate Max! And your first duty will be to tell me if you like videogames."

But Max just shrugged. "I-I don't know. I mean, I never played a videogame before."

"What?! You gotta be kidding me?"

"No, m-my mom never allowed me to play."

"Well, Maxi, I think it's time for you to be introduced to world of adventures, videogames, junk-food and piracy." spoke Chloe to Max, flinging her arm around the brunette girl's shoulders.

"Th-thank you." answered the small girl shyly.

Chloe started to giggle and ruffled through the Max's hair. "You're so adorable! C'mon, first mate, let's set sails and find us some treasure a. k. a. mom's cookies!"

* * *

"From the first moment I saw her, I knew that she was special." said Chloe. Her cheeks were wet from shed tears and she had a warm smile on her lips as she recalled these childhood memories. "Normally, other people just annoyed me, but Max…" She sniffed. "I always felt comfortable around her. It was like she's been a part of me that I needed to be complete."

"And when you two were separated, you felt lost or even alone?"

Chloe nodded. "When she was on vacation with her parents it was hell. M-my dad always arranged that our vacation was at the same time, so that I had a bit of distraction."

The doctor scribbled some notes on his sheet of paper, before he continued. "Chloe, when you think about your relationship…your bond…with Max, which catch-words come into your mind?"

The blonde girl stayed silent for a while, weighing if and how much she wanted to tell. "Doc, this conversation stays between us, right?"

"Of course. Everything stays in this room." he reassured her with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe started. "Okay. When I think about her I think about a deep friendship, fun, pirates, photography…" She took another deep breath. Her heart raced. "…d-desire and…lo…" her voice broke as she suppressed a sob.

"Take your time, Chloe."

After some time she'd calmed down enough to continue. "And love." As this word left her mouth it felt like a thousand tons of stones dropped from her heart.

Dr. Mortensen kept scribbling on his paper as Chloe tried to read his expression. "When you say love, do you mean a platonically love, like you'd love a family member or…"

"No, I…uhm…I mean the real deal."

"Amorous feelings?"

She answered with a nod, blushing beet-red. But still, there was no evidence of judgment in the doctor's expression. "Am I normal?" she asked suddenly, making the old man look at her.

"Of course you are. What makes you think otherwise?"

"Doc, I have a crush on my best friend, who's a girl and younger than me. I've been sleeping in her room for over four weeks now. I kissed her picture multiple times. And I…I…" Again she stopped for a deep inhale and another very intimate confession. "I fantasized about her."

Dr. Mortensen put the clipboard with his notes and his pan aside and gazed at Chloe deeply. "Chloe, you're in a state that is commonly known as puberty. Your body goes through a lot of changes and you start to explore your own sexuality. And it happens to a lot of people that they develop an interest in the same gender during this phase, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it will stay this way."

"Doc, I don't give a shit that I'm probably gay. But why her? Why my best friend? And why are my feelings for her are so intense?"

"Have you ever heard of the term _social anxiety disorder_ , short _SAD_?"

"Yeah, but I always thought that people with SAD aren't able to talk to other people."

"That's only partially true. You see, the human mind is very complex and can't be just described with some simple psychological terms. You, Chloe, have a special variety of SAD. You said it yourself, other people annoy you. You're able to speak to them, but only in a bold or even rude way."

"Okay, so I'm an asshole when I talk with others. Check. No problem there. But what has this to do with Max?" said Chloe, getting impatient.

The old man sighed. "Chloe, firstly, you're not an asshole. Secondly, because of their incapability to form bonds with other people, some persons, who are suffering from SAD, tend to form very deep bonds with very special people. In your case, your father and Max. Since your father sadly passed away, Max became the center of your life. You formed a very deep bond with her. That's the reason you feel responsible for what happened to her. The reason you have this deep desire for her. The reason you always felt lost without her."

"So, my love for her is a result of my deep bond with her?"

"Probably, yes. But it doesn't mean that your love is a product of your SAD."

"Okay, now you lost me, doc."

"Chloe, what I want to say is that you have to find out by yourself, if your amorous feelings for Max are just a phase or, as you called it, the real deal."

"Hmm. Let's assume that they're real. Should I tell her?"

He chuckled. "You know, there is a saying: listen to your heart. I know, probably not what you wanted to hear, but, eventually, only your heart knows what it wants. But if you want my personal opinion: call her and then approach this topic slowly. Don't confront her directly or else you'll scare her away eventually. Got it?"

Chloe nodded, stood up and grabbed her stuff. "Got it, doc. Thanks for your help…and the talk! Gotta run and make a call! Bye!"

Before the doctor could say anything else, Chloe had already left and was on her way home.

* * *

The phone laid on the dining table in front of her. For the last thirty minutes, Chloe just stated at it and tried to muster the courage to call Max.

' _What's holding you back, Price? An hour ago you were so sure; so confident; and now you chicken out? You're not only an asshole, but also a chicken!_ '

"FUCK." yelled Chloe, jumped up and threw her mug against the wall. She walked the whole living room up and down, the pieces of the smashed mug cracking under her shoes every time she passed them.

"Okay, Price, calm down!" Her heart was beating in a fast pace and her breathing was near to hyperventilation. She stopped in front of the table again, leaned on it with both hands and took deep breaths. "You fucked up, now take responsibility. Even if she doesn't want to talk to me anymore, she definitely deserves an apology."

Chloe picked up her phone from the table, opened it and hit the speed-dial button for Max's number. It rang. Once. Twice. With every passing second, Chloe got more and more nervous. Her hand was shaking and she chewed on her bottom lip, until her call finally got answered.

" _Max's voice: Hi, this is Max Caul…What?...No!...No, Chloe, I won't do it in pirate. Hey! Gimme my phone back! Chloe…_

 _Max's voice gets inaudible._

 _Chloe giggles._

 _Chloe's voice (mimicking a pirate) : Arrrrrr, this is Maxi's jibberjabber box, you landlubber! If you've got any hints on the treasure that we seek, leave a message after the beep!_

 _Max's voice (getting audible again): Chloe, don't you dare hitting that button!_

 _Chloe giggles again._

 _Beep!"_

Chloe held her phone tight in her clenched hand. A flood of tears dripped down onto the table and her face was grimaced by emotional pain as she recalled another childhood memory. It took her a lot of strength to speak those next words under her sobs.

"Max…I'm sorry…!" She sniffed. "Max…please…I need you…"

Her voice broke and she dropped the phone onto the desk, before she buried her face in her hands and started to cry intensely.


	10. Chapter 10: Thanks(for-)giving, part 1

**Chapter 10: Thanks(for-)giving, part 1**

A loud, continuous sound woke Chloe from her slumber. Groggily, she turned around with a big groan, refusing to open her eyes. She covered her face with her hand as a headache hit her with full force.

' _Ugh! Stupid alarm! It's not even a school day and I'm absolutely not in the mood to make any dinner._ '

The noise stopped. Just now Chloe tried to open her swollen eyes slowly, but as soon as the brightness of the day seeped through the small slits, the headaches got even worse, making her to close her eyes again.

' _Holy fuck! Two hours of crying are definitely not good._ '

The sound chimed again, but this time, Chloe opened her eyes rapidly.

' _That's not my alarm, that's my phone!_ '

Ignoring the nail in her head, Chloe jumped up, fell off the bed and crawled the rest of the way to the desk in Max's room, where her phone laid. She grabbed it and gazed at the display, which showed Max's ID.

Chloe's heart began to race and she'd stopped breathing, as she opened her phone and took the call.

"Maxi! Max, is that you?"

" _Hi Chlo!"_ chimed Max's friendly voice from the phone.

A tear of joy flowed down Chloe's cheek as she exhaled all the air she'd held in her lunges. "Oh my god. Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! Listen, I'm so sorry! I've been such an asshole and selfish and…"

" _Chloe."_

"…stupid and…"

" _Chloe!"_

"…an idiot and…"

" _CHLOE!"_ yelled Max, making Chloe to shut up. _"It's fine, okay? I'm not mad at you anymore."_

Closing her eyes, Chloe took a deep breath to calm down again. "Thank you!" she sighed in relief. "So…uhm…How've you been in Seattle?" asked Chloe in order to start a conversation.

" _Well…okay, I guess. But can we talk about this later? I'm about to visit some friends and gotta go now."_

Chloe's heart dropped to her feet and her joy dissipated in a blink of an eye. "Yeah. O-of course. I-I mean…f-friends are important a-and…" she stuttered, almost losing her composure.

" _Yup, very important._ "

The door bell chimed and some moments went by in silence.

" _Someone rang at your door."_

"Yeah. So?"

" _Aren't you gonna answer?"_

"Nah. Mom's still in town and I don't expect any packages, sooo…nope."

It rang again.

" _Maybe it's important?"_

"Or maybe not."

" _Chloe…"_ said Max with an impatient voice.

"Hmm?"

" _Will you just open this stupid door, I'm freezing my ass off!"_

Understanding the meaning of Max's words, Chloe got up, almost jumped through the room door, stumbled down the stairs and ripped open the front door.

And there she stood. Max Caulfield, dressed in a thick, black jacket, the phone in her hand and a big and soft smile on her lips.

"MAXI!" Chloe cried out as she saw her friend's freckled face. She jumped at her, took the brunette girl into a very tight hug, and started to cry out of joy.

Max replied the strong hug, but soon groaned and patted on Chloe's back. "Ch-Chloe! M-my ribs."

Remembering her friend's injuries, Chloe backed away and gave her a wry smile. "Yeah. S-sorry 'bout that!" she said, while wiping away the wet lines on her cheeks.

"No biggie, they're almost healed, but still very sensitive." replied Max with a smile.

Both girls looked at each other for some time. Chloe could feel the bond between them. How her desire; her longing for Max finally got satisfied.

"Chloe." spoke Max and broke the silence. "I'm still freezing my behind off."

"Y-yeah. Right. Sorry. C'mon in." the blonde girl said, broke the gaze and signed her friend to enter the house, while trying to hide her blush by turning her head away.

"Strange, normally I'm the one who zones out." Max giggled, walked past her and took off her jacket.

Chloe closed the door and walked towards the kitchen. "Want some hot chocolate to warm up you butt?"

"You read my mind, Chlo!"

The blonde shrugged. "I just know you well enough, little cookie-monster." While she prepared a pot with milk and two mugs, she couldn't help herself, but glimpsing at her crush several times.

' _Damn, she looks so cute! I still can't believe that she's back. But how did she get here and how has she been these last five weeks?_ '

"How did you get here?" Chloe asked Max, who was leaning with her back against the counter.

"My parents brought me. They just drove on into town to help Joyce with the groceries."

"So, your parents stay for the weekend, I guess?"

Max nodded. "Mh-hm. I thought it would be great, if you and Joyce have some company during Thanksgiving."

The milk cooked. Chloe took the pot and filled the white liquid into the prepared mugs. "Marshmallows?" she asked and got an arched eyebrow from her friend. "Just kidding. I still know that you want a shitload of Marshmallows." Chloe took a hand full of the white sweets, put them into Max's mug and reached it to the smaller girl.

"Thanks!" Max took the mug, blew a few times the emerging steam away and sipped on the hot beverage. "Ah, nothing beats Chloe's hot chocolate!"

Chloe took the praise with a mischievous smile, sipped on her beverage too and continued the talk. "How's Seattle?"

Max's expression became serious, while her gaze dropped. "Well, it is great there. I mean, Mecca of art 'n stuff, but without you…" She glanced at Chloe deeply. "…pretty boring and kinda lonely."

"Yeah, same here." replied Chloe, trying to suppress the need to tell Max how she really felt.

"But I took some self-protection classes!"

"Really?!" Chloe blurted out, almost spluttering on her hot chocolate, which made Max giggle. "Wow! The real Kung-Fu shit?"

"Not quite, it's called Wing Tsun and I learned just some basics. Care for a demonstration?"

Chloe gave Max a wide and impish grin. "Bring it on, Caulfield!"

"Alright. Let's get some space." Spoke the smaller girl and walked into the living room. Chloe followed her and both girls faced each other. "Okay, now slap me!"

"What?! No, Max! No way! I'm not gonna hit you!"

"Chicken?"

"No, I just don't wanna hurt you."

"You won't. Now hit me! Or should I dare you?"

Chloe let out a big sigh. "Okay, but only if you promise me that, whatever happens, we will stay friends."

"I cross my heart and hope to die." replied Max, drawing a cross over her heart with her index finger.

"Alright."

Gathering all her strength, Chloe took some deep breathes. Every fiber in her body screamed at her not to do it. She closed her eyes one last time, took a swing and let her flat hand shoot towards her best friend's cheek. But it was stopped before it even reached Max's freckled face. Her arm got pressed against her chest so that she had to stumble backwards, where she fell over Max's repositioned leg.

As Chloe lost her balance, Max tried to hold her, but instead both girls fell to the ground with a shriek. Chloe laid on her back and Max on top of her.

The two girls first giggled, but then just looked at each other intensively.

"Say, Maxi, is this a part of your self-protection move?" Chloe asked in a soft tone.

Max gave her a shy smile. "I-I don't know…maybe."

Chloe could feel, her friend's warmth, how her heartrate increased. How her breathing got heavier. She brushed a stray streak out of Max's face, giving her a very warm smile. Slowly, Max's face came closer, while she bit her bottom lip. Chloe could already feel her warm breath on her own nose. She leaned in too, ready to kiss the girl that she loved so much.

Suddenly, the front door was unlocked and Joyce, Ryan and Vanessa entered the house.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of their parents, Max and Chloe got up rapidly. Both were blushing beet-red and tried to make the impression as if nothing had happened.

Most experienced with the two girl's shenanigans, Joyce glanced at them suspiciously, arching one eyebrow. "I don't know what you two were doing, but if it involved burning down the house, I'll ground you for the whole weekend!"

"Chill, mom! Maxi just showed me some of her crazy self-protection-wing-ding…stuff."

"Hi Joyce! It's called Wing Tsun and involves no house-burning." added Max with a warm smile, her hands behind her back.

"Self-protection? I always thought that Chloe was your protection."

"After what happened, Maxine insisted on visiting a self-protection class. I was against it at first, but my daughter and my husband talked me against the wall." said Vanessa and rolled with her eyes.

"She likes it and we have less to worry about her. I'd call it a win-win for everyone." Ryan added with a smile.

"Yeah, she became pretty badass!" cheered Chloe.

"That's one dollar for the swear-jar, missy! Plus another one for not doing your chores." said Joyce, giving her daughter a sternly glare.

"What?! Since when did we reinstate this stupid swear-jar?" asked Chloe in surprise, her jaw dropped.

"Since you almost got us sued with your lose mouth." replied her mother, one hand on her waist.

Chloe crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. "That's bullshit!"

"And another dollar. I'll cut it from your allowance."

"Now cut her some slack, Joyce." said Max and giggled, making everyone look at her. "She was about to start, but I interrupted her. And don't forget that you came home earlier, because my parents picked you up." She looked at Chloe and gave her a warm smile and a wink.

' _Did she just put her sweet ass on the line for me? Wow! She's changed somehow, that's for sure. Shit, I'd love to kiss her right now!_ '

"Alright." Chloe's mom agreed with a nod. "But the one dollar for _badass_ stays!"

"Fine." Chloe sighed in annoyance and rolled with her eyes. "Can we now please order a pizza or something, 'cause I'm starving."

Ryan grinned and held up a plastic bag full of food boxes. "Luckily we brought some Chinese food!"

"Hell yeah!" The blonde darted towards Max's dad, ripped the bag out of his hand and started to unpack it on the table. "You folks get rid of you jackets and mom, you go change. I and Maxi are gonna prepare everything. Now off ya go!"

* * *

Ten minutes later, everyone sat at the set table, which Max and Chloe had prepared.

"Well, let's dig in!" Chloe spoke and grabbed her chopsticks.

"Not so fast, young lady!" intervened her mom, giving her a serious glare, which was answered with a pair of rolling eyes. The tall woman stood up and gazed at everyone at the table. "I want to use this opportunity to thank Ryan, Vanessa and Max for being here today. Since William passed on, you helped us through those difficult times, and that you are here today and for Thanksgiving, shows us that we're not alone." Joyce took a deep breath and paused for a short moment. "Ryan, Vanessa and especially Max…thank you! Thank you very much!"

"Yeah, thank you, guys!" Chloe added and gave Max a short glimpse, who smiled warmly, grabbed the blonde girl's hand under the table and gave it a soft squeeze. A warm feeling emerged from Chloe's stomach, ran through her entire body, increased her heart rate and gave her a mild blush.

"Now you can dig in." said Joyce and sat down again.

Chloe, still sunned by Max's touch, needed a few seconds to finally pick up her chopsticks again. She'd loved to hold her friend's hand some more, but Max needed it to eat.

Silence occurred as everyone started to eat the delicious food. Everyone, except Max, who had slight problems eating with chopstick and cursed silently every time her dumpling dropped back onto her plate.

"Y'know, honey, I can get you a fork." Joyce suggested with a smile.

"Thanks, but I'll manage…somehow." the small brunette replied with a forced smile and dropped the next dumpling right into the soy sauce, splashing it all over her hoodie. "Ugh, butterfingers!"

Chloe snickered, while Vanessa gave her daughter an angry gaze, because of her manners at the table.

Realizing, that Max was about to get in trouble, Chloe stood up and helped her. "C'mon Maxi, I'll help ya." She placed herself behind the smaller girl, embraced her with her arms and looked over her shoulder. Then she took Max's sticks, grabbed her hand softly and placed them correctly. "See, you have to hold them like this. Alright?"

Max nodded. "Mh-hm."

"Okay, let's get this dumpling into your mouth." Still holding her friend's warm and slightly shaking hand, Chloe lead it to the food. With small brushes and pushes she controlled Max's finger movements, until they managed to pick up the dumpling. "Gotcha!" she whispered into her ear.

Slowly, both girl's moved their hands upwards, the dumpling still between the two sticks. "Open the gates and prepare for landing!" Max opened her mouth and closed it again, after the food was inside.

"See, piece of cake!" Chloe said with a warm smile.

"You mean piece of dumpling." Max answered while chewing.

"Yeah." the blonde giggled softly, not realizing that she still held Max's hand.

"Chlo, I-I'm gonna need my hand back, if I want to practice my new learned chopstick-skills."

Chloe coughed and let go of Max's hand. "Y-yeah…of course. " She returned to her seat and continued to eat. For a short time she glimpsed at Max and then at her mom, who looked at her with an arched eyebrow, making her blush.

' _Dammit, Price, cool down, will ya? Doc Mortensen said that I shouldn't overdo it. After all, now that she's back, I'll have all the time to do some reconnaissance. But what bothers me is, does mom already know that I crush on Max? She looked at me like she knows something or have I been just too obvious? Ugh, I wish we'd be 18 and could just elope, without receiving any shit from our folks!'_

"How are things going with the insurance company?" Ryan asked to break the next upcoming silence.

Joyce's expression became sad as she sighed. "Not so good. They still refuse to pay William's life insurance, because he allegedly hasn't paid his last rate, which was due one week after his death."

"Ever thought about taking legal actions?" asked Vanessa.

"Easy said then done, Van. Money's tight as it is. I'm barely able to pay the mortgage on the house and if Chloe wants to visit Blackwell next year, she has to do it with a scholarship. I already asked the bank for a loan, but…" The blonde woman let out another sigh. "I just don't have the money for a lawyer."

"And what if we borrow you some?" All eyes were now fixed on Max, who instantly sunk a bit deeper in her seat. "I-I mean, dad, you told us that you just got your company a new project and received a bonus. So, what if we loan Joyce the money for the lawyer, and after she's got the insurance money, she can pay it back."

Now all gazes wandered and fixed on Ryan, who was taken by full surprise. He coughed. "Well…" he started, but paused for a minute as he looked at his wife's almost angry glare. "I-I think…"

"Ryan, you know that this money is for Maxine's college-fund." spoke his wife.

"Mom, dad, i-if you want to put this money into my fund anyway, than I'm gonna give it to them."

"Maxine, you're just 13 and…" Max's mom was about to say, but got stopped as Ryan put his hand on her arm.

"I think, Max is right, though, sweetheart. It is her money anyway and if she wants to use it to help out Joyce and Chloe, then this is her decision. Besides, the chance that Joyce will get the payment is very high, so I don't see any problems there."

"Fine, you two are never listen to me anyway. So, do what you want." the brunette woman replied, waved with her hand and pouted by focusing on her meal.

"Darling, you know that this isn't true." Ryan put his arm around his wife's shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "After all, you managed to convince the two of us to keep Max with us in Seattle."

Chloe let her chopsticks drop onto the table. Her hands were shaking and she stared into empty space. "E-excuse me." she merely whispered with a shivering voice, jumped up and ran upstairs. She slammed her room door shut with a loud bang and leaned against it, covering her face with her hands as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

' _Why? Why is this happening? What have I done to deserve this? Haven't I suffered enough? Everyone on this fucking planet hates me and wants to see me in pain._ _Well, life, here you have it. I'm done. First you took away my dad, then you brought me back my love, showed her to me one last time, only to take her away from me again. Thanks, asshole!_ '

Her thoughts got interrupted by a knock on the door. "Chloe, can I come in? We need to talk." chimed Max's voice from the other side of the door.

Normally, Chloe would've expected to feel sadness and disappointment, but instead she felt anger. Deep burning anger. "What is there to talk about, huh? You're gonna bail on me again, that's all. Now fuck off and leave me alone!"

A strong and sudden push opens the door and let Chloe stumble forwards until she lost balance and fell, landing in the middle of her room. "What the fuck!"

"Dammit, Chlo, why are you always so stub…holy shit!" said Max while she walked into Chloe's room, but stopped immediately as she gazed at the chaos. "Wh-what happened to your room?"

"Refurbishment." the blonde replied boldly, giving Max an agitated glare.

"Refurbishment?" the smaller girl asked with unbelief. "Okay Chlo, cut the crap! What the fuck is wrong with you? Since the day before we had our fight you're acting just strange. Talk to me, Chlo!"

"Why do you even care? You did a hell of a good job ignoring me for the last five weeks." yelled Chloe and stood up.

"Because you hurt me, Chlo! You hurt me badly." Max's eyes welled up as she shouted back. She took some deep breathes and continued in a calm and shivering tone. "It took me three weeks to stop crying. Three weeks to figure out why you did what you did. And I realized that I didn't want our friendship to end this way. I wanted to talk with you about it in person. Not on the phone. So I talked my parents into visiting you and Joyce this weekend. And now I'm here and I wanna know, do you really want me gone? B-because if you want to, at least tell me why. What did I do wrong?"

Realization struck Chloe like a lightning, making her answer in a quiet voice. "It wasn't you, Max. But it doesn't matter now." She turned away, embracing her body with her arms. "You're going back to Seattle in a few days and will soon forget about me."

Chloe could hear how the debris cracked under Max's steps as she walked towards her. A small hand grabbed her shoulder firmly and turned her around, making her look into a pair of blue, watery doe-eyes. "You really think that less of me? You really think that I'd just abandon the person that matters the most to me?" Chloe just averted her gaze again, but her head is turned right back by Max, instantly. "Chloe, what is going on? Since that day you're not the person I knew. Please…" Max brushed over her friend's cheek, while tears emerged from her eyes. "Talk to me. I'm so worried about you."

Chloe just stared at Max's freckled face. Her lips trembled. Her hands were shaking. Pure panic engulfed her mind as she realized that she couldn't avert telling Max about her feelings anymore. She embraced Max's face with her hands, softly and pressed her lips onto hers.

The whole world seemed to have stopped as Chloe felt Max's warm and soft lips. But as soon as she noticed that Max wasn't returning the kiss, she backed away and looked at her. Only to see that the smaller girl stared at her with eyes wide open. Tears were flowing down her cheeks in a constant stream as she started to sob. Max shook her head, turned around and ran out of the room.

"Max, wait!" Chloe yelled after her, but only got the slamming of a door as an answer.

' _Well done, Price. You just fucked up again!_ ' she thought, buried her face in her hands again and cried out her desperation.

* * *

' _Why did I kiss her?_ ' Chloe asked herself in her thoughts. She was lying in her bed, gaze fixed on ceiling, while she played with a cigarette between her fingers. ' _The doc warned me not to be too fast forward and now everything went to shit. Great, Chloe! Just fucking perfect!'_

She turned her head and let out a sigh as she realized that it was already way past midnight. ' _Almost 1 am and I still can't sleep. Maybe I should go out and take a walk. Justin told me that smoking helps to calm down._ ' The blonde looked at the cig in her hand and scoffed. ' _Never was interested in this shit or any other drugs, except mom's wine, but I think it's time to leave the comfort-zone and try something new…maybe it really helps._ '

About to stand up and get dressed, a soft knock on the door made Chloe stop in her movement. "Chloe?" a quiet voice chimed from outside.

"Maxi!" Chloe gasped, walked to her room door and opened it.

Max stood there in her pajamas, her right arm touching the left one. "C-can I come in?"

' _Okay, Chloe, seems like she's about to give you another chance. Now keep cool, apologize and try to minimize the already done damage.'_

The taller girl stepped aside and signed her friend to come in. "Y-yeah, sure." Max entered with small steps, while Chloe closed the door. "Listen, Maxi, I'm sorry about the…" she started as she turned around to face her friend again, but was interrupted as Max surprisingly stood right in front of her, embraced her cheeks softly, tip-toed and kissed her.

A mixture of different feelings rushed through Chloe's mind, ranging from 'What the fuck?!' to 'Hell yeah!'. At first, she didn't know what to do, just standing there, stiff and not moving a limb. But as time passed by and Max still hadn't broken the kiss, Chloe wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's back and pulled her closer.

Neither of them knew how much time had passed as they finally broke this magical kiss. Both girls rested their foreheads against each other and giggled, sharing some short and soft kisses from time to time.

"I love you, Maxi!" Chloe whispered.

"I love you too, Chlo!" Max replied and laid her head onto her love's shoulder. "Gosh, I missed you sooo much!"

"I missed you like crazy!" Tears of joy were running down Chloe's face and she started to sob as all of her worries; all of her fears; and all of her doubts finally fell off her. Max joined in with the crying as the same negative feelings dropped from her tiny heart as well.

"Chloe?" Max asked, after some more time had passed and both had stopped crying.

"Mh-hm?"

"Sorry that I freaked. It was just…"

"It's fine, Maxi! I would've done the same."

"C-can I spent the upcoming nights in your room? I-I just don't wanna sleep alone and wanna savor every minute with you. Besides, some dork slept in my bed and didn't change the sheets for weeks."

Chloe broke the hug and laughed. "Guilty as charged!" Then she blushed and looked away. "I know, kinda creepy, but…I don't know, it just…"

"Chloe…" Max interrupted, making the blonde girl to raise her sight again. "It's okay. I…uh…I-I borrowed a shirt from you."

One of Chloe's eyebrows arched. "Borrowed?"

Now Max was the one who looked at her feet and blushed. "A-and used it as a pillow every night."

An awkward silence filled the room, but was soon broken as both girls first giggled and then erupted into loud laughter.

"Well, I guess we're both pervs." Chloe snickered after they stopped laughing. "Better turn down the noise or else my mom will go all berserk on us. How about we use the opportunity that I finally cleaned up my room and build a pillow-fort?"

"Sounds great!"

"Maybe some leftovers?"

"Om nom nom!"

"Little cookie-monster!"

" _Your_ little cookie-monster!"

"And how about a movie?"

"Cuddling will suffice."

"Sounds like a great plan. Let's do it!" With these words, both girls left the room silently and searched for everything they needed to turn this night into a perfect night.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the fort was build and most of the leftovers eaten. Both girls now laid in their comfy pillow-fort. Chloe on her back and Max on her side, cuddled closely to her girlfriend, head on the blondes shoulder.

"Chloe?"

"Hmm?" she hummed, already a bit drowsy.

"About Seattle…"

"Max, I don't wanna talk about it right now. I haven't felt that relaxed and happy since you left and…" She sighed. "Fuck, I just wish that this very moment never ends."

Max lifted herself up and looked at Chloe. "I know. Actually, I'm feeling the same, but I need to get it off my heart."

Exhaling deeply, Chloe opened her eyes and looked into Max's ones deeply. "Okay, spill!"

"My stay in Seattle is only temporary, until the end of this school year. I'm still a student at Arcadia Junior High and I still wanna attend Blackwell. After everything went to hell, my mom literally freaked. She blamed everyone. Me, you, my dad, my school, Jasmine, Blackwell, Arcadia, and insisted to keep me in Seattle. And after you…well, pushed me away, there weren't much arguments left against it. I don't know how many hours we talked and fought about this topic. But eventually, we found a way. My dad made a deal with Hargrove: I'll stay an enlisted student in Arcadia Bay and am therefore able to stay in the talent-program, but my teachings will be done by a private-teacher in Seattle. Of course, I still have to write the tests and exams of our school. But after this school year is over and the program is about to start, I'm gonna move back to Arcadia Bay and then…" She leaned forward and gave Chloe a long kiss. "I'll be at your side, forever!"

A slight smile formed on the blonde's lips. "So you're definitely moving back?"

"You can bet your behind on it! I'm even planning on visiting you regularly."

Chloe let out another sigh, but this time out of relief. "Y'know, Maxi, I think you did the right thing, telling me about it. I-I'm actually relieved." She closed her eyes and pulled Max closer. "I think we should catch some sleep now, 'cause tomorrow is gonna be a stressful day."

"Yeah." Max replied and laid her head back on Chloe's shoulder. Soon, both girl were breathing steadily, sleeping close together, finally at peace.


	11. Chapter 11: Thanks(for-)giving, part 2

**Chapter 11: Thanks(for-)giving, part 2**

Step by step, Chloe awoke from her slumber. The sounds of the early birds chimed in her hear and the brightness of the day made her opening her eyes slowly. This was the first morning after five weeks that she felt full of energy; that she wanted to jump up and hug the world. Her lips formed a big smile.

' _I still can't believe it, Maxi is my girlfriend! Or is she? Pft, doesn't matter if she's called my girlfriend or lover or whatthefuckever. What really matters is that we love each other and that she wants to stay at my side.'_

She turned her head to look at the brunette girl that laid right beside her, as if she wanted to make sure that last night hadn't been a dream. Max was still asleep, laying on her side. One of her hands rested on Chloe's belly, still holding the blonde's right hand, like she did the whole night.

' _God, she's so cute, especially when she's asleep. She looks so peaceful, so innocent. I always asked myself, how someone could dislike her? She's so beautiful. Her small nose, those cute freckles, these incredible doe-eyes and her lips. Damn, those lips are just a bomb! Can't wait to kiss her again! I'd like to watch her for hours, but sadly…I need to piss. Damn you, call of nature!'_

Very cautiously, Chloe unwrapped herself from her blanket and Max's arm. As she tried to crawl out of their fortress, the smaller girl started to mumble in her sleep, making her stop instantly.

"Mmmh…Ch-Chloe…mmmh…don…don't leave m-me…mmmh…"

' _Shit, she's gonna wake up. Think, Chloe, think! Hmm…ah, I know something!'_

Chloe took off her pajama shirt, slowly, and as she was about to place it under Max's head as a pillow, the younger girl grabbed and cuddled it like a teddy-bear.

"Hmm…I love you, Chlo!" mumbled Max, but kept on sleeping.

Her words made Chloe smile again. "I love you too, Maxi!" she whispered and brushed over the brunette girl's head.

The now bare chested, strawberry-blonde girl finally managed to leave the fort, left her room as quietly as possible and headed for the bathroom.

She closed the door, stripped off her pajama shorts, relieved herself and then looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her lips were forming another big smile.

' _Damn, I can't stop smiling. Let's hope that mom doesn't get suspicious. I wonder if Max finds my body attractive? I mean, she loves me, yes, but this doesn't mean that she has sexual desires like I have. I've been crushing on her for over a year now, but my sexual interest started just a few weeks ago.'_ Her smile faltered as she let out a big sigh. _'Ugh, this stuff is so complicated? Why can't everything just be as simple as science? I could build an A-Bomb, if I had the necessary components, but I can't figure out love. Well, guess I have to follow Doc Mortensen's advice: listen to your heart.'_ Chloe raised her arm and smelled at her armpit, scrunching up her nose. ' _…and my nose. Phew, I definitely need a shower!'_

The hot water ran over her body and washed away the last remnants of her negative thoughts. Chloe leaned with her hand against the wall. She loved taking hot showers, it always relaxed her; gave her some inner peace.

Another wave of pure joy rushed through her body and let her sob again, as her mind recalled last night.

' _See, dad, I told you that she's my soulmate.'_

' _And I never doubted it.'_ chimed William's voice in her mind.

' _But would you have guessed that she might become my girlfriend?'_

Her dad's voice chuckled. ' _No. But I think that it is the right thing. You are happy, and that counts.'_

' _I am actually happy. Since you died, this day is the first one I feel an inner peace. No anger, no sadness, just joy.'_

' _Then I think even more that you two belong together.'_

' _But what if mom finds out about us? What if she freaks out?'_

' _Just tell her, we always agreed that love knows no boundaries or distances. You can't force it and you definitely can't stop it. Love will always find a way.'_

' _Thanks, dad! I miss you!'_

' _I miss you too, kiddo! Take good care of Max. She needs you more than you know.'_

' _I will, dad. I will.'_

Chloe turned off the water. Her bottom lip shivered, but she still had a slight smile on her face. "Thanks again, dad!" she whispered, took her pirate towel and dried away the water and tears on her face.

It knocked on the bathroom door. "Chloe, can I come in?" her mom's voice chimed from the other side.

"Sure thing, mom!" she answered and continued to dry away the wetness on her body, after she'd left the shower.

Joyce entered the bathroom, closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed, like she wanted to prevent her daughter from leaving the room. She was dressed in a long, pink pajama and her long blonde hair was all messy, hanging over her shoulders.

Chloe glimpsed at her from the corners of her eyes, only to see that her mother's expression was sternly. "Okay, I know that look. Am I in trouble again?" Chloe asked nonchalantly, not willing to let her good mood get ruined.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"What is going on between you and Max?"

Chloe stopped her doings instantly and stared at her mother for some moments, only to avert Joyce's sternly gaze again. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean. Your behavior of a broken-hearted girl when Max was gone. Your flirting during yesterdays dinner."

"That was no…" Chloe tried to defend herself, but was cut off immediately.

"Yes, it was, Chloe. I'm working at a diner and have seen a lot of dates. I don't even wanna know what you two were doing when we came home." Joyce spoke loudly in an agitated tone.

Chloe just stood there, hugging herself again. It became her defensive position during these last weeks. She wanted to yell at her mom, wanted to tell her that she should stay out of it. That she should mind her own business.

"Please tell me, Chloe, are you hitting on Max?"

And there it was again, anger. Dwelling inside of her, ready to come out. "Yes, mom. Yes, I do! So what? Wanna gimme shit, 'cause I'm crushing on girls, huh? HUH?" she shouted at her mother, giving her an evil glare.

"No, but…" Joyce answered, now averting her daughter's gaze.

"But what?"

"Godammit, Chloe, she's 13." the tall woman blurted out, looking at Chloe again.

"And I'm 14, so?"

"You two are too young!"

"Too young for what? Love?" scoffed Chloe, turned away and shook her head in disappointment. "And I always thought, you and dad believed in love without boundaries and distances."

Taking a step towards her daughter, Joyce tried to touch her shoulder, but Chloe withdrew it. "Chloe…"

"I'm very disappointed in you, mom, and dad would've been, too." the blonde girl said in a calm voice, while she wrapped the towel around her body. "FYI, Max feels the same as I do. We're a thing now and everyone who tries to get between us can go to hell!" With these words spoken, Chloe made her way past her mom and opened the bathroom door.

"Chloe…" Joyce spoke, making her daughter to glimpse at her once more. "You're right and…" She sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek. In a fast movement she wrapped her arms around Chloe and pulled her in for a tight hug. "…I'm so sorry!"

"Apology accepted!" Chloe whispered as she returned the hug.

Soon, both parted and Joyce wiped the wet lines on her face away with the sleeve of her pajama. Then, she closed the door again, and became serious. She spoke in a calm voice. "Chloe, I know that this relationship with Max means the world to you. It makes you happy, I see that now and I'm accepting it, but…" She inhaled deeply, touched Chloe's arm softly and brushed over it to sooth her. "I'm just one side of the medallion."

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't like where this is going."

"You know Vanessa, she tries to protect her daughter from everything that she doesn't agree with, no matter if it makes Max happy or not."

"Then she can go and eat a bag of dicks!"

Joyce now grabbed both of her daughter's arms and looked into her eyes deeply. "Chloe, please, take this as a well meant advice and warning." she pleaded. "Be cautious around Ryan and especially Vanessa. If they find out the hard way, there will be trouble and a lot of flowing tears." She brushed over Chloe's cheek and gave her the most worried look, Chloe has ever witnessed. "I don't wanna see my baby-girl getting hurt again."

Chloe leaned her head into her mom's comforting hand. "Thanks, mom! I promise that we will be careful."

"Just stay low, don't be too obvious and keep the cuddling inside of your room. Ryan and Vanessa are staying at a hotel anyway, so they won't get suspicious when Max stays in your room. Nice pillow-fort, by the way." she said with a warm smile.

"How do you know about the fort?" the blonde girl asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I took a peek into your room to check if you were the one showering."

"We wanted to lock out the world just once." Chloe said with a scoff and a wry smile, but then got dead serious. "I wish she would stay here and not going back to Seattle. I'm afraid, mom. I don't wanna lose her again."

Joyce took her already sobbing daughter in for another hug, caressing her back. "You won't, my dear, you won't. She came back, despite that you wanted her gone. Believe me, Max won't leave you behind! And now…" She broke the embrace and wiped away some of her daughter's teardrops. "…go to your Max and wake her softly. I'll get ready for the day and then make some breakfast for you two love birds!"

"Thanks, mom! You're the best!"

"Just a caring mother, sweetheart, just a caring mother."

* * *

Chloe left the bathroom and walked to her room in a bee-line. Slow and quietly she opened the door and took a peek inside, only to see that Max was about to crawl out of the stack of pillows and cushions. The small girl stood up, stretched her limbs, then rubbed her eyes and let out a big yawn.

' _Fuck! She's so cute! Let's make sure that she's fully awake!_ '

A mischievous grin formed on her face. "Surprise tickle-attack!" yelled Chloe, kicked open the door and tackled Max onto the pile of soft cushions, tickling her like crazy.

Shrieking and bursting out into loud laughter, Max tried to free herself, but Chloe held her tightly. Only as the smaller girl was able to use her self-protection skills, she managed to roll Chloe onto her back. And as the day before, Max ended up on top of her, followed by some minutes of giggling.

Both were panting heavily and looked at each other with an intense glare. "Morning, Maxi!" whispered Chloe with a soft voice, brushing over Max's face.

"M-morning, Chlo!" Max replied with a wry smile. Again their heads came closer, but this time they went the whole distance and let their lips touch each other for a soft kiss.

And there it was again, this warm and incredible feeling that made Chloe smile all the time. She'd love to cry again and scream her happiness out into the world. But she couldn't. Her mom made it pretty clear. So she focused on just enjoying this feeling of love. "Had a good night's sleep?" the blonde girl asked after they had parted the kiss.

"Mh-hm. Thanks for the shirt, by the way!"

"No probs, Maxi." She answered with a warm smile, which changed into an impish grin. "Y'know, I start to like this position, but I'm freezing, 'cause you can't cover my whole body…and I kinda lost my towel."

Max's eyes widened in surprise, instantly. As she lifted herself up with her hands and gazed down Chloe's body, her eyes got fixed on her girlfriend's bare chest. Her head became red as a ripe tomato. She jumped onto her feet, shrieked and turned away, covering her face. "Oh my dog, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It was an accident. I'm so…" Max mumbled into her hands in a fast pace, but got interrupted as she's turned around softly by a snickering Chloe.

"Y'know, as my girlfriend you'll have unrestricted booby-access anyway."

"I don't want access to your boobies, Chloe." The smaller girl continued mumbling, still holding her hands in front of her face.

"Bummer!" said Chloe and made her way to the closet and started to dress. "Chillax, Maxi, I'm just messing with you."

"Chloe?" Max askes some moments later.

"Mh-hm?"

"Have you started smoking?"

Chloe instantly stopped her doings and turned around, seeing that Max was holding the cigarette in her hand, which Chloe wanted to smoke the day before. "Oh, this…uhm…" She walked over to her girlfriend and ripped the cig out of her tiny fingers. "N-no, I…I just…" Chloe stammered, looked onto her feet and then sighed. "Listen, Maxi, some dude gave it to me and said that it might help with all the stress and…and…then these last five weeks and…" She let out another sigh and broke the cig in two pieces. "You know what? Fuck it! I don't need it. All I need is you!" With these words said, she threw the pieces into the garbage can and gave Max a soft kiss on her cheek, followed by a hug. "I love you, Max!"

"I love you too, Chlo!"

And there it was again, this incredible need to cry in joy and this time, a tear of happiness rolled down Chloe's cheek. "You should get ready for the day. Mom's probably making breakfast right now and you know that Thanksgiving always turns into a cooking-marathon." Chloe said and wiped away the wet line on her face. They broke the hug and she put on another impish smirk. "And I don't want you to starve, my little cookie-monster!"

* * *

"Sugar-bombs!" Chloe shouted out, walked into the kitchen and filled a bowl with milk.

Joyce glared at her daughter, one hand at her hip. "Chloe, I just made you French-Toast. I still don't understand why you prefer this stuff over some real breakfast."

"For starters, if you eat diner food almost every day, you definitely need some change in your diet. Plus, today's gonna be exhausting, so I need a shi-…I mean, a buttload of sugar!" Chloe replied, filling the bowl with cereals until they almost flowed over the edge.

"If this is the case, then I suggest that, in future, you're going to make your own breakfast."

"Mo-om!"

"Morning!" Max spoke in a happy tone as she took a seat at the dining table. "Don't be so hard on Chloe. You know that she'd die for your food. Besides, I'm gonna eat her French-Toast, if she doesn't want it."

Joyce walked over to the table and put two plates with French-Toast in front of Max. "Good morning, sweetheart! At least one person appreciates my hard work here. You're hereby relieved from kitchen duty."

Joyce returned into the kitchen, while Chloe sat down beside her girlfriend, pouting. Both girls began to eat. "Ass-kisser!" she suddenly mumbled.

Max bumped her in the side with her elbow. "Dork!"

"Midget!" the blonde replied, looking at Max deeply with a wry smile.

Now Max returned the gaze with a smirk. "Landlubber!"

Chloe's face came closer. "Pussy!"

"Sissy!" Max almost whispered, completely lost in Chloe's blue eyes, so that it made her forgetting everything around her.

"Cutie!" Chloe whispered back and gently placed a kiss on Max's lips.

"I still have to get used to this sight." Joyce suddenly spoke out, startling Max, who broke the kiss rapidly and almost fell off the chair.

"J-Joyce…w-we…uh…we…i-it wasn't…" the small girl stuttered as her head turned into a tomato again.

"Calm down, Max, I already know and I won't tell your parents."

"She knows?" the small girl blurted out as she gazed at a snickering Chloe, who nodded. "When did that happen?"

"This morning." Chloe's mom answered for her daughter. "It wasn't Chloe's fault. I cornered her and she convinced me that you both want it. So, I'm fine with it."

Max buried her face in her hands. "Ugh! That was my second heart-attack this morning. Thanks for the heads-up, Chloe!"

"My pleasure!" she giggled.

"Asshole!"

"That's one dollar for the swear-jar, Max." Joyce's voice chimed from the kitchen.

"What?! Since when does this fucking swear-jar apply to me?"

Chloe's mom looked over her shoulder and gave the brunette girl an angry glimpse. "Since you became a resident of this household and the f-word is another dollar!" With another filled platter in her hand she sat down at the table too. "Just keep going like this, girls, and the trip to Paris will be paid in no time." she said nonchalantly with a smile.

* * *

After the breakfast, Chloe took care of the dishes, while Joyce prepared everything for the big Thanksgiving-cooking. Despite her relieve from kitchen duty, Max wanted to help Chloe, but her mom insisted that she should do the chores on her own. Therefore, the young girl went back into her room.

"I thought I made myself clear." Joyce spoke, while she was preparing the turkey.

"C'mon, mom, it was just a kiss."

"For you it was just a kiss. For Vanessa it would've been a reason to grab her daughter and leave for Seattle…forever."

There was no anger or rebuke in her voice, making it for Chloe even more clear that her mom cared for her relationship with Max. "You're right. It was stupid and…"

"Showing your affection to the person that you love is not stupid! To be honest, it warmed my heart seeing you two like this. But still, be cautious!"

"We will, thanks mom!" Chloe said, giving her mother a warm smile.

"I'll be outside!" chimed Max's plain voice as she walked past the kitchen and left for the back yard.

Mother and daughter gave each other a knowing glimpse. Something was wrong. "Go talk to her, I'll finish the dishes."

Nodding thankfully, Chloe dried her hands and got her jacket. Before she went outside, she gave her mom a big hug and a peck on the cheek. "Best mom in the whole, wide world!"

"Stop kissing my ass and take care of your girl!" Joyce said with a wink.

"That's one dollar for the swear-jar, mom!" Chloe replied victoriously as she opened the sliding door to the backyard.

A cold November breeze brushed over her face and played with her strawberry-blonde hair. Max sat on the swing, her head down, clearly not in a good mood.

Chloe placed herself on the second swing and stayed silent for a moment, hoping that Max would talk to her, but it didn't happen. "Hey Maxi, what's wrong, hmm?" she said with a calm and worried voice.

Again, she received only silence, instead Max pulled her phone out of her pocket and pushed some buttons. After a while, Chloe's sobbing voice chimed from the speaker.

" _Max…I'm sorry…! Max…please…I need you…"_

Max cut the massage as Chloe's intense crying started. Her hand was shaking. Chloe could feel that she was hurting.

"Max, I…" she began, but was interrupted by her girlfriend's raised hand.

"Chloe, we…we need to talk. About us. About everything." Albeit her shivering voice, Chloe could hear that Max was determined, and she also knew that it was important to talk about their relationship sooner or later.

But still, the blonde girl needed every bit of composure to remain calm and not to freak out in an instant, fearing that Max might question their relationship and therefor break up with her. "O-okay. I'm here, so let's talk." She reached for Max's smaller hand and squeezed it softly. She relaxed a bit as Max finally raised her head and gave her a weak smile. Chloe could see the wet lines on her face and it made her even sadder to see her loved one like this.

"I'm scared, Chlo! I'm scared shitless. I-I don't know what to do or what to feel and…" Her voice broke for a moment. "I-I don't wanna lose you, Chlo, but…I have doubts. A fucking shitpile of doubts. I don't wanna have them, but they're still there. What if this is only a phase? Only some hormones going rampage in my body? What if someday you'll stop having feelings for me? Are we still gonna be friends or will it break us apart? I…I don't…" A sob escaped her mouth, then another one and another one, until she slid of the swing, buried her face in her hands and began to cry hard.

Chloe reacted instantly and embraced Max, rocking her softly. "Ssh, Maxi. I'm here and I'm not gonna leave you!" She embraced the brunette's head with her cupped hands gently, brushing over her wet cheeks with her thumbs. "I know what you're going through. I went through the same mess of feelings for over a year."

Max stopped crying and looked at her shocked. "F-for over a year?!"

Chloe gave her a warm smile and nodded, as she almost whispered her soothing words. "Mh-hm. I've been crushing on you for over a year, my little geek! For over an entire fucking year I didn't know whether I should tell you and risk our friendship or just leave it be and live with the fact that my love would always be unanswered."

A jolt of realization struck Max. "The flirty comments, the excessive hugging, th-the kiss in the park, th-…that morning…y-you wanted to tell me!"

"Yes, Maxi, I wanted to confess my feelings for you on that shitty day. But after everything went to hell I freaked out and was even more scared. I…" Chloe took a deep breath to overcome her need to cry. "From the first moment on I regretted what I did. It was stupid and I was afraid that you never wanted to talk to me ever again. That's why I never called you. And after I finally managed to, everything broke down on me and…I'm sorry, Maxi, so, so sorry!" she cried out eventually and buried her face into Max's shoulder, who now embraced her back with her arms.

"Chloe, I forgave you two weeks ago. I-I just never would've guessed that you…actually loved me and…and…Oh Chloe, if I'd known how you felt I would've called you earlier!"

"You came back and that counts for me."

"I love you so much, Chlo!"

"I love you too, Maxi! With all my heart!" said Chloe, backed away a bit and gave Max a slight kiss on her forehead.

"Max, your parents are here!" Joyce voice chimed from the sliding door.

Chloe let out a big sigh. "Well, looks like we have to reduce the cuddling to a minimum now."

"Yeah." Max said with some disappointment, although a smile was forming on her lips. "But we still have the whole weekend to cuddle."

"Amen to that!" Chloe cheered with her characteristically mischievous smirk. "C'mon, dude, let's cook the shit out of our kitchen. I wanna make some brownies!"

"Yummy! Cookie-monster Max wants brownies!" the smaller girl growled, making both girl's bursting out in laughter as they entered the house again. "Mom! Dad!" she cheered and headed for her parents and hugged them.

"Good morning, my little munchkin!" Vanessa said with a happy voice, embracing her daughter.

"Morning, kiddo!" Ryan spoke as he gave her a hug, too.

"Say Maxine, did you cry?" Max's mom asked, brushing over her daughter's face as she looked into her red-cried eyes.

"N-no…I…" Max stammered.

"They helped me cutting some onions. But you know today's youth. They can sit a whole day in front of a TV, but when it comes to some kitchen work…" Joyce intervened, earning a thankful gaze from Chloe and Max. "But enough with the chitter chatter. We need to get this turkey and all this other food done or else we'll only have mashed potatoes for dinner."

"Okay, you folks start, I need to hit shitter." Everyone looked at Chloe, even Max. She shrugged. "What? Nature calls, eventually."

"But your vocabulary is way down the drain, young lady!" her mom commented and shook her head as she shifted her attention to the stuffing.

* * *

Chloe had just left the toilet as she suddenly heard Max's voice yelling from the living room throughout the house.

"WHAT? That's not fair! You can't do this!"

' _What the fuck?'_

As the blonde girl wanted to continue her way towards the living room, Joyce approached her with a stern look, holding her back. "Chloe, you have to be strong now!"

"Wh-what? Why? Mom, what is going on?"

Joyce's head dropped as she let out a big sigh. "It's Max. She and her parents are going to leave for Seattle tonight, right after dinner."

"What?! N-no! No, this can't be! We…we need more time. We…" Chloe began with an almost panicky voice, but was silenced and calmed down for a moment by her mother's soft touch on her arm. "Mom, I-I don't want her to go."

"I know, sweetie, but there's nothing we can do about it. Ryan received a call that he has to work tomorrow. They would've loved to stay here for the weekend, especially because Max wished for it, but…You have to be strong for her now! Support her. Give her hope. She needs this more than some rage. You understand me?"

It took Chloe a lot of strength not to burst out in tears, especially now, as she could hear Max's sobs. She'd been looking forward to a whole weekend with Max. Playing videogames, strolling through Arcadia Bay, spending the evenings and nights together, all by themselves in their pillow-fort. But this dream had been completely destroyed now.

' _I'd love to refurbish the whole house right now, but mom's right. If I freak out, everything will become even more complicated. Max needs me now and I'm gonna show her that I'm always there for her.'_

Giving a single nod to her mother, Chloe moved slowly into the living room. Her hands were clenched into fists and her lips trembled. Every step was hard, because her legs almost refused to hold her anymore. As she finally reached her destination, the young girl saw that the Caulfield's were sitting on the couch. Ryan and Vanessa flanked their daughter and tried to sooth the crying girl. Seeing Max in tears again, was like another punch in the guts. She took a deep inhale to suppress a sob, shifting Max's parents attention toward herself.

"Chloe, we're so sorry! But Ryan received a call and…" Vanessa told her with a sad face, shaking her head slightly.

"I-I know…mom just told me…and I…" A tear rolled down her cheek. Chloe had to close her eyes and take some more deep breathes to hold her composure. "I understand. C-can I talk to Max, please?"

Max's parents gave each other a short glimpse and nodded. Ryan patted Chloe reassuringly on her shoulder and Vanessa gave her a short hug, as both of them left the room.

As soon as Chloe sat down, Max wrapped her arms around her and cuddled herself as close to her girlfriend as possible. "I don't want to leave you!" she whispered between her sniffs, calming down with every second she felt her loved one.

"I know, Maxi. It sucks, but…" The next words almost got stuck in her mouth. "W-we sadly can't change it."

"This doesn't sound like you, Chlo." Max mentioned with a calm voice.

"No, it doesn't." the blonde girl answered with a scoff. "Actually, I'd like to wreck this whole town like a tornado, hijack a car GTA-style and elope with you to another dimension."

A soft chuckle chimed from Max. "You're such a dork!"

"Yeah, I am. But at least I'm your dork." Chloe embraced Max's head softly, making her look into her eyes. "I know that everything is fucked right now, but how about we use the remainder of this day and make the best out of it. Y'know, having fun, talking shit…"

"Flour-fight?"

"Of course a flour-fight. What is Thanksgiving without a shitload of flour in you hair?"

"A Thanksgiving without you." Max answered, smiling wryly. "You're right, Chlo. We should enjoy every remaining second!"

"That's the spirit, Maxi!" Chloe cheered, took Max into another a hug and whispered softly in her ear. "I love you!"

* * *

Max shrieked as another wave of flour hit her face. "Gosh, not again, Chlo! My nose is already completely blocked with this stuff."

"Just accept your defeat and the flouring will end!"

"Never!" the younger girl yelled, took a handful of the white powder from the bag on the counter and stormed towards Chloe with a battle-scream.

"What the mmmph…" was everything the blonde girl could reply, before a load of flour was stuffed into her mouth.

"Knock it off, you two!" Joyce intervened, separating the two girls, who were completely covered with flour. "Godammit, the whole kitchen looks like a blizzard went through it!"

"D…don't worry…mom…I…I'm gonna clean it up tomorrow." Chloe managed to say between her coughing.

"How about you two clean it up right now? Or don't you two like to do stuff together?"

"Ugh, mo-om!"

"And after that you girls are gonna clean yourselves for dinner." spoke Joyce and returned with some platters into the living room.

"Yes, mom." Chloe sighed and started to clean up the kitchen. "I swear to you, she just wants to keep us busy." she addressed to Max with a low voice, who gave her a smile.

"I think, she just knows you too good. You'd never have cleaned the whole kitchen all by yourself tomorrow."

"Pft, I'm not that lazy."

"Yes, you are, and only your smartness saved your behind so far."

"Ouch! That hurt!" Chloe replied sarcastically, left the kitchen for a moment and came back with a broom.

"By the way, did you get expelled or…"

"Nah, Hargrove just gave me detention for the remainder of the school year." Chloe said with a shrug.

"Wowser! That's tough!"

"Not really. Mainly, I just sit there and bore myself to death. But if I do it at school or here…doesn't really matter. It's just…" Chloe exhaled deeply and dropped her gaze. "Damn, I'm gonna miss you so much!"

A small hand touched her arm softly, making her look up again only to glance at Max's warm smiling, freckled face. "Don't worry, I'll keep you busy with texting."

Chloe's lips formed a big smirk. "I'd love to kiss you right now!"

Max took a short glimpse over Chloe's shoulder into the living room, saw that Joyce and her parents weren't paying any attention to them, leaned in and gave the taller girl a kiss. "Wish granted!" she whispered with a wink and continued the cleaning with a chuckle, while Chloe didn't move a limb, completely stunned.

* * *

"Chloe, hurry up! Everybody is waiting for you!" Joyce's voice chimed from downstairs.

"Coming, mom!" the young girl shouted back as she closed the last buttons of her violet shirt. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, took some hair-gel from her nightstand and tamed a few stray locks.

' _Ready for a date with Max…or Thanksgiving.'_ she thought and smiled wryly. ' _Can't wait to have a date with her. Candlelight, fancy food, romantic music and all this other mushy stuff._ ' A sigh escaped her mouth. ' _Well, for now, Thanksgiving has to suffice. I better head down or else mom will freak and rage the shit out of me._ '

Chloe left her room, headed downstairs into the living room, where her mother and the Caulfield family were already waiting for her.

"Ready!" she cheered and took her seat beside Max at the completely with food filled table. ' _Thank god that we have an extendable table or else the food wouldn't have fit on it.'_ she thought and as she looked around, she reckoned that everyone was looking at her, especially Max, whose mouth was agape. "What?"

"Are you expecting the president, Chloe? You look so…fabulous." Ryan asked the blonde girl with a soft smile. Normally, Chloe wore more casual clothes, even at special events. Therefore, no one had expected her to be dressed like this.

"Oh…that…uhm…I just wanted to look great for M-…for Thanksgiving. Is it too much? Should I change?"

"NO!" Max suddenly blurted out, making all gazes shift to her. "I-I mean, y-you look so b-b-beautiful. I-it's cool, I like it!"

"Well, now that we agreed that Chloe should keep her clothes on, who's gonna slice the turkey? Ryan?" Vanessa asked, eying everyone.

"I could do it." stated Chloe, getting the attention of everyone. "Dad showed me how to do it, last year."

"I agree!" said Max.

"I think it's a good idea, sweetheart." Joyce chimed in with.

"Yeah, why should always the man do it?" Ryan said with a smile.

"The turkey is all yours, Chloe!" Vanessa agreed with the others.

Proud to be the one who slices the infamous Thanksgiving turkey, Chloe stood up, took the sharp knife and the fork and readied herself by closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.

' _I hope I make it right, dad.'_

' _You will, kiddo, just remember everything I told you.'_

Chloe sliced off the first piece. "This one's for Maxi." And put it on Max's plate. "Thanks for forgiving me. I was an ass and…I'm just glad that I have you back in my life!"

Totally surprised that she received the first piece of turkey, Max just stared at Chloe. "Th-thank you, Chlo!"

Soon, all plates were filled with food. Chloe sat down again, ready to relieve her crumbling stomach.

"I know that nobody on this table is a believer, but still, I think we should at least say a short prayer." Joyce said.

"God be blessed for this munch-fest!" Chloe just answered dryly.

Max burst out into loud laughter, while Ryan chuckled into his beard. Joyce had a big smile on her face and Vanessa just stared at the blonde girl.

Chloe just shrugged. "What? Short, pointy and it mentioned god, a blessing and food. Now, let's dig in!"

"Nothing to add there. I'm pretty hungry." Max's dad mentioned, earning a long glare from his wife.

"Amen!" Max added and just started to eat. Chloe and Ryan joined in.

Vanessa let out a sigh and shook her head.

"Don't worry, Van, it could be worse." Chloe's mom soothed, giving her a soft smile. Now the both women began too eat too.

* * *

Silence filled Chloe's room. It was almost perfect and would've been soothing, if it hadn't been broken from time to time by the sniffs and sobs of the two hugging girls. For the last 30 minutes, Max and Chloe just stood in the middle of the room in a tight embrace, waiting for the inevitable separation.

Chloe had tried to stay strong, to give Max some hold, to seize the rest of the day. But the closer Max's departure came, the darker became her mood. As the moment arrived to say good bye, she couldn't hold this facade anymore. The blonde girl burst out into tears as soon as they were alone, and Max did the same.

"Maxiiiine, it's time to go." Vanessa's voice chimed from downstairs.

Shaking her head and digging it deeper into her girlfriend's shoulder, Max let out another sob. "I don't wanna leave you, Chlo!"

"Ssh, calm down, Maxi!" Chloe soothed with a quiet, shivering voice, before she broke the hug very gently and brushed with her hands over the brunette's freckled face. She looked into Max's red-cried eyes deeply and gave her a wry smile. "Gosh, I love you so much! Max, my dad told me once that love knows no boundaries or distances, it will always find a way. Our love is so strong that we'll still feel it, despite the 500 miles between us." She took Max's hand and laid it on her chest, right above her heart. "My heart will always beat for you. We're bound for life, Max! Okay?"

Max answered her with a nod, took one of Chloe's hands and placed it above her heart. "B-bound for life, Chlo!"

Both leaned in and their lips collided in a long kiss, which was followed by a lot of small kisses, because non of them was ready to stop.

"Chloe?" Max managed to say between the pecks.

Chloe stopped the kissing and gave the smaller girl a warm, amorous smile. "Mh-hm?"

"I-I got a present for you."

"A present?!" the blonde girl asked with surprise and an arched eyebrow.

"Y-yeah. It's…uh…some kind of a farewell-present." Max told her, rummaged through her camera-bag and brought forth a small, squared object, packed in giftwrap and handed it to Chloe. "Here! But please, don't open it before I'm gone, okay?"

The older girl took it and pulled Max in for another big embrace. "Thanks, Maximus!" Then she planted another peck on her girlfriend's freckled nose. "But I got a present for you, too. Well, kinda…" Chloe turned around, walked to her desk and picked up a gray box and handed it to Max, who looked at it with awe.

"Y-your dad's instant-cam?"

"Yup. I know that your old one got busted and that your folks already got you a new digi-cam, but I also know that you're an instant-cam-freak and I don't need it, so…"

Max jumped at her, almost throwing the taller girl off balance. "Thank you! You're so awesome!"

"I know." Chloe giggled. "But there's more." She grabbed into the pocket of her black jeans and pulled out an instant-selfie, showing her with a stuck out tongue and a wink. "I know, you made a lot of pictures today, but I thought that you might wanna have an original Chloe-Selfie."

Instead of taking the picture, Max turned her new cam towards her face, made a happy smile and took a picture. After it emerged from the slit of the cam with a whirring sound, she handed it over to Chloe and both exchanged their selfies. "And here you have an original Max-Selfie you can kiss good night every day!" she said with a wink.

"Maxine, it's getting too late. Move it!" Vanessa's now more agitated voice chimed through the house again.

The brunette girl let out a big sigh as her gaze dropped to her feet. "I guess we can't put it off anymore." She walked to the door, opened it and wanted to take her bag, but Chloe's hand was on the handle, before Max had any chance to grip it.

"I'll help ya." the blonde said with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Chlo!"

Both girls left Chloe's room and headed downstairs. Their steps were slow and unmotivated, like they wanted to use every remaining second to be close together.

"What took you so long?" Vanessa asked with her hands on her hips as Max and Chloe left the house.

"S-sorry, mom!" the young girl answered shyly, probably blushing a bit, but luckily it was already dark and the orange light of the street lanterns hid this and the two girl's red-cried eyes pretty well.

Ryan took the bag from Chloe, giving her a thankful nod and a smile. "Thank you, Chloe!" he said and brought it to the car.

While Max and her dad said their farewells to Joyce, Vanessa approached Chloe, grabbed her arm and walked her to the other side of the lawn.

' _Okay, Vanessa talking to me privately can't be a good sign. Does she know? Or is this gonna be a final_ you-are-a-bad-influence-so-stay-away-from-my-daughter-thing _?_ '

"Chloe, I…" Vanessa began, averting Chloe's eyes.

' _And here it comes. Ugh!'_

"I wanted to thank you!"

' _What the fuck?'_

Chloe just stood there, completely taken aback, not knowing what to say. "Uh…okay. What for?" she asked, scratching the back of her neck.

Now the brunette woman laid her hand on Chloe's shoulder and gazed at her deeply. "For how you where there for Maxine. How you reacted. I…" She paused for a moment. "I really thought that you would freak out as soon as we told you that we're leaving today, but…but you didn't. You where there for my daughter, soothed her and made my little Maxine happy again. Ryan and I knew that Maxine wanted this visit so much and it almost broke our heart as we received that call and…"

"Vanessa, i-it's fine. I just did what I had to do." Chloe took some deep inhales as she tried to find her next words. "Listen, I was an asshole to Maxi and I still regret what I did, she…she deserves better and that is what I wanna be now, a better friend."

Suddenly, Vanessa did something she'd never done before. She took Chloe into a tight embrace. The blonde girl stiffened, hesitant if she should return the hug.

"I misjudged you, Chloe. I did so often and I want to apologize for that, and I promise you, as soon as Maxine attends Blackwell, we'll be more than glad to let her stay here again!"

Hearing this promise, this reassurance that Vanessa would send Max back to Arcadia Bay next year, that it was guaranteed, let her return the hug eventually, sending some tears down her cheeks. "Thank you!" she answered with a shivering voice.

Vanessa broke the hug and gazed at Chloe again, but this time with a warm smile. Another gesture the strawberry-blonde never received from her before. "Take good care of yourself, Chloe. Our little munchkin needs a good friend like you are!"

With these words spoken, Max's mom walked over to the others, leaving Chloe standing there alone for a while until Max and her dad headed her way.

"I hope my wife wasn't giving you a hard time?" Ryan said with a smile, showing that he knew what Vanessa just told Chloe.

"Nah, I'm too adorable to get raged on."

The bearded man chuckled. "Articulate as always. But seriously, we're glad that Max has you as a friend and we'll try to get you two through these upcoming months as good as possible. Maybe we can arrange something around Christmas."

"For reals, dad?" his daughter asked in awe, hugging him.

"That would be awesome, Ryan!" Chloe cheered.

"Well, then it's settled. We can work out the details later. For now, we have to get going. Take care, Chloe!" he said and reached the blonde girl his hand, who shook it.

"Will do, Ryan, will do."

After Ryan had returned to his wife, who was talking with Joyce now, Chloe and Max were for themselves.

"Hey." Chloe spoke softly with a wry smile.

"Hey." Max answered equally. "So…uhm…wh-what did my mom tell you?"

A wide grin formed on Chloe's face. "Well, she kinda promised me that your sweet behind will be back to Arcadia Bay next year and…uh…she's happy that I'm your best friend."

Max knew that her mom always had a problem with Chloe, always thought that she was a bad influence on her. Sometimes she had the feeling that she'd urged the move to Seattle to finally separate them.

But hearing that her mom finally had accepted Chloe as her friend let her eyes sparkle with joy. She jumped at Chloe again and hugged her like crazy.

Both girls enjoyed this closeness. Liked the exchange of warmth. They both felt the urge to kiss each other again, but sadly, they mustn't. Not in the sight of Max's parents. Because Vanessa's approval of their friendship, didn't necessary mean that she'd accept their relationship. Joyce made that clear enough. Therefore, the only option that remained to express their love for each other was this very tight embrace and their whispered words, accompanied by some tears.

"I love you, Maxi! I love you so much. Take care, okay?"

"I love you too, Chlo! Just promise me that you'll stay out of trouble!"

Chloe scoffed. "Now you sound like my mother."

Max broke the hug and looked into her girlfriend's almond-shaped deep-blue eyes sternly. Chloe knew that she was serious about this. "Chloe, I mean it. Please, be careful all the time! I…I couldn't take it if something might happen to you!"

The talker girl gave her an determinant nod and pulled her in for another embrace. "Promised!"

"Maxine." Vanessa's voice chimed from behind as she softly touched her daughters shoulder.

The two girls parted again, instantly missing each others closeness. "See ya around, Maximus!" Chloe said with a weak smile and a shivering voice.

Max's answer was just a sniff and a nod, followed by some droplets on her cheeks. Chloe knew that it took a lot of strength from both of them not to cry out loud.

Chloe's gaze followed her love on her way to the car, until she decided to walk over to the vehicle. After the door was closed and the engine came to life, both girls stared at each other, their faces wet from tears. Chloe laid her hand on the window and Max did the same from the other side, mouthing a _love you_. Both could feel their bond. That nothing could separate them. That they were able to feel their warmth even through the glass.

The almost magical touch was broken as the Caulfield's car drove off and down the street. Joyce embraced her daughter's shoulder, being aware that this was a very difficult moment for her. But instead of taking the comforting gesture of her mom, Chloe freed herself, turned around and ran back into her room. She took Max's present from her desk and ripped off the wrapping.

' _A CD?_ ' Chloe thought as she glanced at the encased disc in her hands. The white surface was painted with some of Max's typical pirate-doodles and an inscription, spelling _Pirates 4e_.

' _The drive in my PC tends to shred CDs, so that's no option. Fuck! Where should I…'_ An idea popped suddenly into her mind. ' _Dad's stereo!'_

Chloe left her room again, ran downstairs into her dad's old workshop and put the CD into his stereo. The drive came to live and with a whirring sound the content of the CD was loaded. Every second felt like hours. "C'mon you stupid piece of shit!" Chloe blurted out as suddenly Max's voice chimed from the speakers.

" _Hi Chlo, it's me…Max…who else. Ugh, I know, probably not the best intro, but it's my tenth try and it's not the worst, so I'll use it. Anyway, I don't know what will happen this upcoming weekend. I'm scared shitless, 'cause we haven't been spoken in weeks and I-I don't even know if you still wanna be my friend…or not…or…"_

 _Max sighs and sniffs._

" _Chloe, just know this. I understand now why you send me away. I get it and I'm not mad at you. But…"_

 _Another sigh._

" _I don't want our friendship to end. Not like this. So I decided to make you this CD. If you still want me gone, then see this as a last, positive memory of me. I don't want you to remember my crying or the slap that I gave you. And also, take this as a promise that, whenever your world us upside down and you need a friend or even a shoulder to cry on…I'm there for you. Just call me!"_

 _A few moments of silence._

" _But I hope from my heart that we will make up again. I hope it so much! I know, it sucks hard that I had to leave for Seattle again. Dammit, if I think about it I could cry right now. But I'll be back, Chloe! I'll be at your side again and the content of this disc should sweeten you this time without me!_

 _It took me a buttload of work to find the right chords for your favorite songs. Gosh, some of that stuff is really hard to find and I just hope that it doesn't sound too crappy on my guitar. Anyway, here goes nothing."_

The next track was loaded and after some seconds, the melody of one of Chloe's favorite rock songs was played with an acoustic guitar. And as the soft voice of Max began to sing the text, Chloe couldn't hold it anymore. Her feelings were a wild mixture of heart-ache, joy, love and desire.

"Chloe?" Joyce said as she approached her daughter once more, and again, she put her arm around her rocking shoulders. "Oh my god, is that Max?" she asked in awe as she listened to the music.

This time, Chloe returned the hug and dug deep into her mother's shoulder. "I love her so much, mom! You're right, she loves me and she'll never leave or forget about me."

Both, Joyce and Chloe stood in the middle of the workshop in a comforting embrace and listened to Max's music. Chloe had closed her eyes and let her mind engulf with every song, while her mom's warmth and brushes on her back soothed her. A gentle smile was formed by her lips as she whispered her next words. "I love you, Maxi! I'll wait for you!"


	12. Chapter 12: Messages

**Chapter 12: Messages**

 _[Incoming call: Max, 11/27/2008, 23:34]_

Chloe: Maxi!

Max: Hi Chlo!

Chloe: How was your ride?

Max: Pretty boring and sad. Way too much time to think about you. You know that I can't sleep during car rides.

Chloe: (giggles) Yeah, last time you puked on my lap.

Max: Ugh, don't remind me of that. I'm still feeling bad 'bout this.

Chloe: You're so cute. Still feeling bad, although I've never been mad at you.

Chloe: Max?

Max: I'm still here. (sighs) I-I'm not used to that someone calls me cute. I don't think that I'm cute, let alone attractive.

Chloe: You have no idea, Caulfield!

A moment of silence.

Max: So, did you like your present?

Chloe: Like it? LIKE IT? Dude, it's so awesome! I. Love. It. I've never heard someone rocking the shit out of an acoustic like you did! And your voice! Dammit, you're a fucking talent!

Max: (shyly) N-no…I'm not.

Chloe: Don't sell yourself shorter than you really are.

Max: Thanks for the pun, dork!

Chloe: (snickers) My pleasure, midget.

Max: (yawns) Sorry, Chlo, but it's pretty late and I'm busted. So…

Chloe: No thing, Maxi. Catch some sleep! We'll talk tomorrow?

Max: Mh-hm. First thing in the morning!

Chloe: I'll wake you up!

Max: Don't you dare!

Chloe: Get used to it! It's gonna be a daily ritual, 'cause I'm officially addicted to you.

A short pause.

Chloe: I love you, Max!

Max: I love you, too, Chlo! Good night.

Chloe: Sleep tight.

Max: Don't let the bedbugs bite.

Both giggle.

Chloe: Nightynight!

* * *

 _November 28_ _th_ _2008_

 _Dear beloved Journal, last time I left Arcadia Bay, I was mad at Chloe and hated the world. This time, though, I love my Chloe – yes, MY Chloe! – like crazy and could cuddle the shit out of said whole, wide world!_

 _Long story short: Chloe is my girlfriend now. Wowser, I'll need some time to get used to call her girlfriend. I never would've thought that this might happen, but it did. It freaked me out more than one time. *insert groan here* But I think I'm okay now. I'm at peace with it. And the best thing is, Joyce agrees with us! Well, now I only have to convince my folks – especially mom – that this is a good thing. *insert another big groan here*_

 _On the bright side, mom finally accepted Chloe as my friend…after 7 freakin' years! I presume that she'll take at least 70 more years to accept her as my girlfriend. But that doesn't matter, because in 5 years I'll be 18 and can do whateverthefreakinhell I want!_

 _So far, oh dear Journal, need to text Chloe back now or else she won't stop bombing my phone with messages. Max Caulfield, crazy in love, signing out._

* * *

 _[Incoming call: Max, 12/09/2008, 3:41]_

Chloe: (drowsy) Mmmhwhaat?

Max: (sobbing and sniffing) Chloe…

Chloe: (worried) Maxi! Wh-what's wrong? Are you crying? Max, talk to me!

Max: Oh Chloe...it was so horrible! (crying intensifies)

Chloe: (soothing) Ssh, calm down, Maxi! What was horrible? Were you having a nightmare?

Max keeps on crying for a while, but calms down slowly.

Chloe: Max?

Max: Chloe, c-can you do me a favor?

Chloe: Sure thing!

Max: I-I know it sounds…odd, b-but please, take the school bus today.

Chloe: (surprised) The school bus? Oh come on, the school bus sucks! Stupid kiddies, lame as fuck, annoying…

Max: Chloe, I beg you here. Please, take the damn bus!

Chloe: Why?

Max: Because…I…(sniffs again)…I have a super bad feeling. I… (sobs again)

Chloe: (sighs) Fine, I'll take the bus.

Max: (shivering, quiet voice) Th-thank you.

Chloe: So, wanna tell me about your nightmare?

Max: N-no…I'm sorry…I…I just don't wanna remember.

Chloe: That bad, huh?

Max: You have no idea.

Chloe: So…uhm…wanna talk some more? I dunno, 'bout Seattle or…uhm…maybe have some phone-sex?

Max: Chloe! What the fuck?!

Chloe: (giggles) Chill, Maxi! Just wanted to lighten the mood and feel your blush through the phone.

Max: (agitated) Ha-ha, very funny, asshole. Good night!

Chloe: Maxi?

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/09/2008]_

[Chloe, 08:45]: _DUDE!_

[Max, 08:45]: _'sup, Chlo?_

[Chloe, 08:46]: _Super heavy car crash, right in front of my eyes!_

[Max, 08:46]: _OMG! Chloe, are you alright? Did you take the bus?_

[Chloe, 08:46]: _Yeees, I took your fucking bus and I'm fine. It just happened in front of my window._

[Max, 08:47]: _Thank dog!_

[Chloe, 08:47]: _Yeah, if I just imagine what would've happened to some poor bastard caught between the car and the wall…PANCAKE!_

[Chloe, 08:50]: _Maxi?_

[Chloe, 08:55]: _Yo Maxi, are you alright?_

[Chloe, 08:59]: _Class is about to start. Text you later._

* * *

 _December 9_ _th_ _2008_

 _Dear Journal, how often can you watch the most precious person in your life die, before you lose your sanity? I don't know yet, but I have the feeling that I'm about to find out._

 _Last night's nightmare/vision was so intense and fucked up again! I dreamt that it was a normal day and then Joyce called and…_

 _Fuck, it's so hard to remember and write this down without losing my mind._

 _Joyce called me and said that Chloe has been involved in a car crash. Her voice was so full of pain and…damn, I still hear it in my head. In my dream I already knew what had happened. I collapsed and a moment later I was back in Arcadia Bay and…short said: Joyce couldn't take it to lose Chloe. I was and the funeral of two precious people, for fuck's sake!_

 _After I woke up, I needed two hours to calm down and be able to warn Chloe. Luckily she took my advice. Everything is okay now. Hopefully._

 _And then something else happened. Chloe tried to cheer me up. All in all a nice gesture, but suggesting phone-sex wasn't cheering me up at all. I know that Chloe is a type for cynically or even dirty jokes, but mentioning sex after this nightmare and the fact that we're a couple for only two weeks sent me over the edge. I wasn't really mad at her, but…I don't know…Just thinking about the possibility of the two of us having sex freaks me out like crazy. Can it even be called sex between two girls? Ugh, I just don't know and I'd love to avoid this whole crap! I don't even have my menstruation yet and already have to deal with such stuff._

 _Maybe I shouldn't forget that Chloe is one and a half years older than me. She probably feels the urge to have sex…with me…yuck! Just imagining the two of us naked in bed creeps me out. Don't get me wrong, I like to cuddle and hug her. Even kissing feels great, but…maybe I'm not ready for more right now. Hopefully, Chloe will accept and not push it. But I trust her, with all my heart!_

 _That's it for now, dear Journal. Max Caulfield, in need to get some more sleep, snoring out._

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/10/2008]_

[Max, 19:13]: _Hey Chlo, sorry that it took me so long to answer. Lot of stuff to do._

[Chloe, 19:13]: _No thing, Maxi! Just glad to get a life sign from you. Is everything ok?_

[Max, 19:14]: _Yeah._

[Chloe, 19:14]: _Is x-mas still a go?_

[Max, 19:14]: _You bet! My folks are willing to munch you and Joyce through the holidays!_

[Chloe, 19:15]: _Hell yeah! Can't wait to see you again!_

[Max, 19:15]: _I can't wait for it, too!_

[Max, 19:15]: _I miss you so much, Chlo!_

[Chloe, 19:16]: _Miss you, too, Max. And sorry for the phone-sex thingy._

[Max, 19:16]: _It's fine, I'm not mad at you anymore. Let's talk about this when you are here, okay?_

[Chloe, 19:17]: _Cool cool. So, any other news?_

[Max, 19:17]: _Well, school sucks, but who am I to tell?_

[Chloe, 19:17]: _Amen._

[Max, 19:17]: _My mom's Chili is about to kill me._

[Chloe, 19:17]: _Ouch!_

[Max, 19:17]: _Oh, and my boobs finally started to grow!_

[Chloe, 19:18]: _See! Told ya it would happen! Now I finally have something to hold on to!_

[Chloe, 19:19]: _Maxi?_

[Chloe, 19:20]: _Hello?_

[Chloe, 19:22]: _I'm sorry, Maxi! It was a bad joke!_

[Chloe, 19:31]: _Ok, I get it. You're pissed at me and I understand. I'll text you tomorrow, kay?_

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/11/2008]_

[Chloe, 07:36]: _Morning sleepyhead!_

[Chloe, 08:03]: _Still mad at me?_

[Chloe, 09:02]: _Class started, just text me anytime._

[Chloe, 15:23]: _That bad, huh? I'm really sorry and you're right, we have to talk about this. Just, please, gimme a sign!_

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/12/2008]_

[Chloe, 05:02]: _Ok, I fucked up. Got it. But jeez, just gimme a simple fuck you or else I'll freak here! Haven't slept all night. Worried sick about you!_

[Chloe, 10:30]: _Tried to call you three times, nothing. Got suspended from school for the next week, 'cause this stupid teacher wanted to take away my phone and I flipped him off._

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/13/2008]_

[Chloe, 7:56]: _Ok, I'm sick of this shit! If you wanna ignore me, fine! Fuck off, bitch!_

[Chloe, 8:34]: _I'm sorry, my rage took over and…ugh, fuck it._

[Chloe, 22:00]: _heya maxiiii. moms at wiork nd im drunkk ass fuck._

[Chloe, 22:01]: _did i wriit ass fuvk? rofl_

[Chloe, 22:14]: _puked in nmy bed. moms gonnna freak._

* * *

 _[Mailbox message from: Chloe, 12/14/2008, 13:12]_

" _Hi Maxi, it's me, Chloe. (groans) I just woke up and I'm hungover as fuck. Mom already raged on me and…well, looks like I fucked up again. She grounded me for the rest of the year, which means that we won't come to Seattle. (sighs) I know, I'm a fuck-up. It seems like I can't get control over my life. But…who cares? I don't._

 _Max, you were the only thing I did right and I…(sniffs) I blew it…again. Just know this: I love you. (sobs) I love with every fiber of my being. And I…I just…need you to exist. I…please forgive me…please!"_

* * *

 _[Incoming call: Max, 12/15/2008, 08:46]_

Chloe: MAX? Maxi, is that you? Please don't be a fucking cop who's gonna tell me that my girlfriend's corpse lies somewhere in the gutter!

Max: (cynically) Oh gee, thanks Chloe, I love you, too!

Chloe: Oh Maxi, I missed your voice so much! Listen, I'm so, so sorry! About the tittie-joke, my messages, my…

Max: Chloe, it's okay.

Chloe: (surprised) Really?

Max: Yup.

Chloe: Not mad at me?

Max: Nope. Never was.

Chloe: Now don't tell me that you're standing in front of my door again, 'cause everything feels like a Deja-vu-thing.

Max: No, I'm not…sadly.

Chloe: Then why didn't you answer?

Max: Listen, Chlo…(sighs) I'm the one who has to apologize. It's true, I was a bit mad about your joke, but just as I wanted to answer I spilled my dinner all over my room, including my phone.

Chloe: Ewww!

Max: Yeah. Anyway, the following four days, I puked and shitted my guts out. Caught me some fucking stomach flu. Lied in bed with fever 'n shit. I haven't been able to get up and charge my cleaned phone again until this morning. Chloe, I'm so, so sorry that I made you worry this much!

Chloe: Well…uhm…no thing! I mean, shit happens and…uh…I'm just glad that you're okay. Fuck, Maxi, I was so stupid! The raging, getting drunk.

Max: You're not stupid, just very emotional! Listen, I'm gonna talk to Joyce and you'll be a good Chloe for the next 8 days, deal?

Chloe: I'm always a good Chloe!

Max: (cynically) Yeah, right. Just keep on believing that and it may become true one day.

Chloe: Dork!

Max: I love you, too, Chlo!

Chloe: Yeah, I love you like crazy! Get well soon, my Maxi!

Max: Thanks! I'll call you tomorrow again. Need some more rest now. Bye!

Chloe: Bye, Maximus!

* * *

 _[Messages with: Max, 12/21/2008]_

[Chloe, 16:09]: _Hey Maxi! Got some good news and a bad one._

[Max, 16:10]: _Let's start with the bad one._

[Chloe, 16:11]: _My mom doesn't want to come to Seattle._

[Max, 16:11]: _That sucks! Why?_

[Chloe, 16:12]: _Said something about that she needs some time for herself. Idk._

[Max, 16:12]: _And you?_

[Chloe, 16:13]: _That's the good news. King Street Station, the day after tomorrow, 15 something. Be there and pick me up, dude!_

[Max, 16:14]: _You can bet your behind on it!_

[Max, 16:14]: _Can't wait to see you again!_

[Chloe, 16:15]: _I'm giddy as fuck. Need some mush as soon as we're at your place!_

[Max, 16:15]: _Need some cuddling, too!_

[Chloe, 16:16]: _What's today's I love you count?_

[Max, 16:16]: _Four._

[Chloe, 16:16]: _Make it five, 'cause I love you, Maxi!_

[Max, 16:17]: _I love you, too, my Chloe!_

[Chloe, 16:17]: _Yup, I'm all yours. Forever!_

[Max, 16:17]: _And ever!_


	13. Chapter 13: Mistletoe

**Chapter 13: Mistletoe**

The train station was crowded with peoples. Some were on their way to visit their relatives in other parts of the country. Some just arrived to visit their families in or around Seattle. And some people, like Max and Ryan, were waiting for a beloved person to arrive.

Max took a peek at her phone and saw that it was already past 5 pm. Chloe had send her a message that her train was going to be late because of the bad weather. It frustrated her to wait any longer than she already had to.

Unable to sleep the whole night, both girls texted each other from dusk till dawn. It started with topics like school and their childhood. But the closer sun rise came, the more their conversation turned into nonsense, climaxing in a discussion about the right spelling of the word 'Arrrr'.

A wry smile formed on Max's lips as she remembered this funny texting session as, suddenly, her phone buzzed. She unlocked it and read the long awaited message from her girlfriend.

[Chloe]: _Train's about to reach parking position._

[Max]: _About time!_

[Chloe]: _Stupid weather! Where are you?_

[Max]: _Lobby, near the exit._

[Chloe]: _kk, omw!_

Max put her phone back in her pocket and turned to her dad. "She's finally arrived!"

Ryan gave his daughter a warm smile. "That's good. I was about to send a rescue party."

Father and daughter scanned the crowd for Chloe, which was almost impossible for Max, because she was way smaller than the most people.

' _Ugh, it sucks to be so small!_ ' the young girl cursed internally as she tried to get an overview by tiptoeing, but to no avail. A pat on her shoulder shifted her focus firstly to her dad and then to his stretched out index finger. She followed his gaze until her eyes finally caught sight of a girl with a dark blue beanie under which some streaks of strawberry-blonde and blue-dyed hair emerged. The next things she recognized instantly were her characteristically mischievous smile and her catching deep-blue eyes.

"Chloe!" Max shouted out and ran through the masses of people towards her long awaited girlfriend.

Chloe let drop her backpack and opened her arms to welcome Max's embrace. Both girls collided and pressed each other as close as possible. Tears of joy were running down their cheeks as they both laughed and cried in pure relief that they were finally reunited.

Although it was never gone, Max could feel the strong and unique bond between them now even more. She took her head off Chloe's shoulder and gazed into her eyes, only to get lost in them immediately. She leaned in, ready to place a kiss on her lips, her soft and so long desired lips. She felt how her girlfriend's hand grabbed the back of her head, but instead of leading her lips closer to their so much wanted destination, they were moved past Chloe's cheek and into the taller girl's shoulder again.

"Not here, Maximus!" whispered Chloe into the smaller girl's ear with a giggle. "Gosh, I missed you little geek so much!"

Although a bit disappointed, Max was glad about Chloe's intervention. "I love you!" was her whispered answer, followed by a sniff.

"Wow! It almost looks like you two haven't seen and spoken each other in years." said Ryan with smile as he approached the girls. "Hello Chloe!"

Chloe broke the hug and shook his outstretched hand. "Ryan! Long time, no see. How's it going?"

"Good. Very good. Now c'mon, you two. It'll take us some time to drive home and we don't want our dinner to get cold."

With these words said, Ryan picked up Chloe's backpack and all three made their way through the crowded train station towards the parking lot.

* * *

' _I wanna touch her!'_ was the incredible loud thought that pestered Max's mind in an endless loop during their ride through Seattle.

While Chloe was busy looking out of the window, enjoying the views of the big City, and her dad needed to focus on the heavy traffic, Max just sat on the back seat beside her girlfriend in silence and gave her a shyly glimpse now and then.

Her gaze wandered from Chloe's face to her right hand, which rested on the seat.

' _I know, I shouldn't, but…ugh, it's just torture to sit right beside her and do nothing but to look at her!'_

Glimpsing at her dad to check if he was still focused on the traffic, Max gulped and her heart raced as she moved her left hand slowly towards her girlfriend's. Inch by inch it came closer. The tip of her finger already touched Chloe's soft and warm skin, which made the blonde turn her head to Max with a warm smile. Their fingers entwined and Max closed her eyes as she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Goddammit, just move it!" Ryan suddenly yelled at the next car, hitting the horn.

Max jump scared and ripped her hand from Chloe's away, scratching her with her fingernails.

"Ouch, fucking shit!" Chloe blurted out as she withdrew her injured hand and glanced at it.

"What was that, Chloe?" Max's dad said sternly, as he gave the blonde girl an agitated glare through the rear mirror.

"I…uh…" she began to stammer. "I-I…just got…uhm…butt-HURT…" She glimpsed at Max from the corners of her eyes, making her look at her lap again. "…by these idiotic drivers here in Seattle. Sorry."

"Yeah, the traffic is just horrible at this time, but we're almost out of the city. Hopefully, it will be better then. But still, don't use such words at home or you'll never hear the end of it, okay?"

"'Kay 'kay, Mr. C!" Chloe replied and gazed at Max again, who mouthed her a _sorry_.

* * *

"Whoa, nice place, Ryan!" Chloe said with awe as the car came to a halt in front of the garage.

"Thanks, Chloe!" he answered. "I hope, you'll like the inside as well as the outside."

All three got out of the car. And while Ryan was about to get Chloe's backpack, the two girls already walked towards the door.

"I'm so sorry!" Max whispered to Chloe, who just chuckled.

"No thing, Maxi. Just a few scratches. Honestly, it didn't hurt that much, I was just scared by your dad, too." she said with a wink and gave the smaller girl a slight nudge with her shoulder.

The front door got opened by Max's mom, who instantly gave Chloe a warm smile and a hug as soon as she'd reached the doorstep. "Chloe! Welcome to Seattle! It's so good to see you."

This time, Chloe replied the embrace without hesitation. "Thanks Vanessa, it's so awesome to be here!"

"Come on in, you three. Dinner is ready and waits to be eaten."

"Mom, c-can I show Chloe my room first?" Max suddenly stated.

"Yeah, I definitely wanna see Max's mosh pit!" Chloe added.

Vanessa put one hand to her hip and gazed at her daughter sternly. "Maxine, you'll have the whole evening to show Chloe your room and if we wait any longer the pizza will be cold."

"But mo-om…"

"No buts, Maxine. Wash your hands and sit down at the table!" her mom replied, making clear that the conversation was over.

"C'mon, kiddo." her dad said as he patted his daughter on the shoulder and walked past her.

Gazing at her feet in disappointment, Max stood in the hallway as suddenly, Chloe embraced her. "Don't be sad, Maxi. We waited this long, now we'll survive this one hour, too." the blonde girl soothed. "Besides, there's a pizza to eat! You know how much I love pizza."

Max nodded and giggled. "Yeah, no pizza's safe from you!"

"Well…" the blonde began and broke the hug. "…then let's munch!"

The girls took off their jackets and shoes, and Max let Chloe into the living room, where Ryan and Vanessa had already taken their seats at the set table.

"Chloe, I want to welcome you once more at our home. This is, literally, your first stay at our house, so I hope you'll have good time. If there's anything you need, just ask us, okay?" Vanessa said after both girls had sat down.

"Sure thing! I…uhm…I just wanna thank you folks, too, that I can stay here for the holidays…uhm…yeah…"

Ryan gave Chloe a warm smile as he took the hand of his wife. "Chloe, you know that you and Joyce became a part of our family. So, there's no need to thank us."

' _Wowser, part of our family. Before William's death, mom and dad weren't really that close with Chloe's parents. I mean, there were some Barbeques or the one or other talk when they saw each other in town, but no close friendship and stuff. I wonder, if we'd just moved to Seattle without another word, would they've stayed in contact with Joyce, or…?'_

"Maxine?" her mom's voice chimed and brought her back to reality.

"Y-yeah?" she stammered and looked around the table, only to see that everyone was already eating.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"S-sorry, I…uh…I just thought about something and…"

"Maxine, you forgot to take your medicine again, haven't you?" her mom rebuked.

"I-I hate those stupid pills." the small girl muttered as she lowered her gaze.

"What pills?" Chloe asked, glancing at Max with concern.

"Maxine's private teacher mentioned that she loses her concentration during classes sometimes and recommended that we should take her to a doctor, who diagnosed…" she turned her head to her husband. "What was the term, Ryan?"

"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder." he sighed and shook his head. "And I still believe that this is a bunch of bullcrap!"

"Darling, the test was positive."

"I know the test results, Vanessa, but still." He sighed again. "Our daughter is a normal kid. So she has some problems, staying focused during classes, but that's not a reason to pump her full with some pills."

"I agree!" Chloe added to the argument, chewing on some pizza. "I have SAD and I don't need any drugs."

"But your SAD doesn't interfere with your academic results, Chloe." Vanessa shot back and shifted her attention to her daughter again. "Maxine, please go upstairs and take your medication. The doctor said you have to take them regularly."

Without saying another word, Max stood up and walked upstairs into the bathroom. She opened the cabinet, which held a wide variety of different medications and medical equipment. With shaking hands, she took out a small pill bottle with her name on it and stared at it for some time.

' _These fucking pills creep me out like shit. Nausea, dizziness, nose bleeding. Every time I take one of those I feel like I'm gonna die. My private teacher's a dick. This asshole did this to me, because I backtalked to him. Why's mom even listening to this jerk?_ '

The door to the bathrooms opened and Chloe's voice chimed from behind. "Maxi? Are you okay?" She closed the door and embraced Max from behind, laying her head on the smaller girl's slender shoulder.

Max closed her eyes, took a deep draft and just enjoyed her girlfriend's closeness, the warmth and the fragrance she's been desired for so long. "I missed this so much!"

"Me too, Maximus, me too."

"How did you get away from my parents?"

"Just told them that I need to use the bathroom. They were so deep in a conversation about psychology that they didn't ask any questions, and technically, I it wasn't even a lie."

By mentioning her parents and psychology, Max opened her eyes and gazed at the pills in her hands again. "I don't wanna take this shit, Chlo."

"Then don't do it." Chloe said with a shrug. "Here, let me help ya!" The blonde girl snapped the bottle out of Max's hand, opened it, threw the content into the toilet and flushed. "See, problem solved!"

Max gave Chloe another tight hug and sniffed as she whispered with a slightly shivering voice. "Thank you!"

"Hey, it's alright, Maxi." she soothed and brushed with her fingers through Max's brown hair. "You know that I'm on your side. And I definitely don't wanna see my girlfriend getting drugged!" Chloe broke the hug and looked into Max's watery eyes deeply. "I love you the way you are. You are special and nobody should try to change this, not even your mom!" she said, brushed a single tear from the brunette girl's cheek and smiled at her warmly. "Dammit, Maxi, you're the only person who can turn me into a big pile of mush!"

"And you're the only person who can turn me into a badass!" Max replied with a wry smile.

Both girls looked at each other and began to chuckle for some time, before they leaned in and gave each other a long kiss.

After their lips parted, Max took another deep draft and kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment.

' _Dog, I missed this so much! Chloe's right, it's like an addiction. A positive addiction. Fuck drugs! All you need is love!'_

As Max opened her eyes again, she recognized that Chloe was giving her a wide smirk. "You really needed this, didn't you?" she mocked.

"As if you didn't stare at my ass all the time." the brunette girl shot back mockingly and gave Chloe a soft push.

"Wh-what?! I-I…uhm…n-no…I-I mean…"

"Chill, Chlo. It was just a joke." Max giggled, but Chloe averted her gaze with a deep-red blush, which made the younger girl widen her eyes. "You really stared at my butt?!"

"Maxine! Chloe! What are you two doing up there?" Vanessa' voice chimed from downstairs.

"W-we better head back or else your mom's gonna freak", Chloe sighed, obviously glad for the change of topic. She opened the door and turned around one more time, only to see that Max hadn't moved a bit. "Are you coming?"

"Chloe, can you please tell them that I don't feel well and gonna lay down?"

"What?! What's wrong? Are you okay?" the blonde asked with concern, walked over to her girlfriend again and raised her head. But instead of a serious expression, Max gave her a warm smile.

"I'm fine, Chlo. I just wanna spend some time with you, without my parents and…" She sighed. "Honestly, I need a break from my mom."

Chloe scoffed. "Got ya there, Maximus! I'll be right back!" she said and walked back downstairs.

After Chloe had left the bathroom, Max splashed some cold water into her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

' _Okay Max, chill. These holidays are gonna be awesome. So far, everything went smoothly. Mom still accepts Chloe and dad even sees her as family. Nothing can go wrong!'_

* * *

' _Hmm…decisions, decisions.'_ Max thought while she was browsing through the movie folder on her Laptop and the already stacked up DVDs on her desk.

She heard how her room door was opened with a groan. "Okay, Maximus...I told your folks that we're staying up here for the rest of the evening and…fuck, this shit's heavy!" Chloe cursed, panting heavily. And as Max turned around, she wasn't able to suppress a chuckle, because the blonde was packed with sheets, towels, covers, bed linen and an inflatable mattress, barely able to look over the pile in her hands.

"Need some help?"

The stuff for Chloe's improvised bed hit the ground with a loud thud. "Nope!" the older girl answered, closed the door and let her sight wander around Max's room. "Whoa, what a sick room you got there!" She stops in front of a photo wall, gazing at all the pictures. "Nice! Dude, if you weren't my girlfriend, I'd say you're kinda obsessed of me."

"Well, let's say, I'm just kinda addicted."

"No way!" Chloe blurted out as she continued her tour. "You've got your own balcony?!"

"Yup." Max said proudly with a big smirk, crossing her arms. "It's really cool to wake up in the morning, jump out of bed and make some awesome shots from there. I guess that's the reason why I got this room."

"Okay, Maxi, change of plans. I'll quit school in Arcadia Bay and move in here."

"Sure, you just have to convince my parents and your mom."

"Well, that's gonna be the tough part." Chloe stated with a sigh. "So, what have you planned for tonight?" she changed the topic.

Max shifted her attention to her Laptop and DVDs again. "I thought we could cuddle ourselves into my bed, watch some movies and munch on my secret coconut-cookie stash."

"Sounds cool."

"The only remaining question is: What movie shall we watch?"

After getting no answer for some moments, Max turned around, only to be startled, because Chloe was right behind her, waggling a green something in front of her face with a big grin. "You know what that is, Caulfield?"

Max focused her sight on that green twig. "A mistletoe?"

Her heart began to beat faster.

"Aaand what are people supposed to do, when they're standing under said mistletoe?"

Her hands got clammy, while they tugged on her pants.

"Uhm…k-kiss?"

Now Chloe's smirk got even bigger as she held the mistletoe right above their heads and closed in on Max's face. "Then gimme some mush, girl!" she said in a whispered tone, closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

Her breathing got fast and shallow.

Their lips almost touched each other, as Max suddenly backed away. "W-wait!"

Chloe opened her eyes again and glanced at her girlfriend with some concern. "What is it Maxi? Is something wrong?"

Without saying a word, Max took the grey instant-cam from her desk and held it up high, the lens facing them. "J-just wanna capture the moment." the brunette girl said shyly, earning a warm smile from Chloe.

"Sure, my little photo-geek." she replied and leaned in again.

This time, their lips finally met. The shutter clicked and a bright flash enlightened the room for a fraction of a second. With a whirring sound the picture emerged from the cam, but instead of taking it out and looking at it, Max continued kissing Chloe. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed the blonde girl's head even closer.

Chloe threw the mistletoe aside, embraced Max's back and drew soft trails over it with her fingers.

The warm feeling of pure love overwhelmed Max completely, and before she knew what was happening, she started to cry. She broke the kiss and dug her head deep into Chloe's shoulder.

"Max?" Chloe asked with worry.

"I-I'm alright. Just…too much…" she spoke under her sobs.

"Emotions?"

Max nodded and pressed herself even closer to Chloe, holding her tightly. "I love you so much, Chlo!" Chloe broke the hug and as Max gazed at her face. She was more than surprised to see wet lines on her cheeks, too. "Chloe, a-are you..."

"I'm sooo happy right now, Max. I love you so much that nothing can describe it. I…fuck!" the blonde spoke with a trembling voice, which broke as some sobs escaped her mouth. "Dammit! Look at what you turned me into!"

"A big pile of mush. My big pile of mush." Max stated with a smile and brushed with her hand over the blonde's cheek.

Both girls gave each other another kiss, before they parted. "So…uhm…care if I take a look at your shot?" Chloe asked after they'd calmed down again.

"Right, the photo!" Max answered, almost face-palming herself that she'd forgotten about the shot. She took the picture from the slit of her camera, which she put back on the desk, and both girls looked at it.

"Wow-ser!" Chloe gasped. "Dude, this shot's amazing. I definitely need a copy!"

"You got it! But I have to use dad's scanner, so we have to wait until both of my folks are out of the house." Max said with a smile, satisfied about the shot and put the picture into her journal.

"No thing, take your time. But for now back to the movies. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we have a lot of choices, but…" Max began, her hand hovering over the DVDs. "How about…"

Chloe's sight caught the movie Max's hand was moving to and crossed her arms with an adamant expression. "No…fucking…way! Not this movie. Nu-uh!"

"Why not?" Max replied with a sad face.

"Because we watched this fucking movie a thousand times already and I never liked it, because: A: It has nothing to do with Final Fantasy. And B: The plot and characters just suck!"

"Thanks for ranting about my favorite movie, asshole!" Max shot back, crossed her arms too and turned away.

"Shit." Chloe sighed quietly. Moved closer to her pouting girlfriend and hugged her from behind. "I'm sorry, Maxi. I…" She sighed again. "I'd love to watch this flick with you, okay?"

But Max shook her head. "N-no, you don't have to. It was selfish of me to suggest this film, though I knew you can't stand it. Let's…let's choose another one!"

Both broke the embrace and sighted the remaining choices.

"What about Blade Runner? You know I like it and you don't dislike it, aaand Pris is kinda hot." Chloe saw how Max's expression got angry again and realized that she just made a huge mistake. "I-I mean not as hot as you…uhm…you're the hottest here a-and she's just fictional a-and…ugh…" she stammered, trying to reach safe ground, but only achieved that Max crossed her arms again.

"Okay, from this day on Blade Runner is officially banned from our watch list…forever!"

"What?! Why?"

"Because now I'll always be jealous of Pris and will hate her guts!"

"Ugh, fine." the blonde groaned. "Any other suggestions, Miss I-am-jealous-of-fictional-characters?"

"How about Star Wars: Episode 1, Miss I-crush-on-fictional-characters?" Max suggested with an impish grin.

"What?! No! That's even worse than Final Fantasy!"

"Maybe, but it doesn't contain any characters you could possibly have a crush on, aaand you deserve some punishment!"

Chloe stretched herself and let out a big yawn. "Fine. I bet I'll fall asleep during the first half of the movie anyway."

Smirking victoriously, Max took the DVD and her Laptop, and brought it over to her bed. "I'll keep you awake, dork."

"Don't you dare waking your beloved Captain from her precious slumber!" Chloe spoke with her pirate-voice.

"Aye aye, Captain Dork!"

Both girls cuddled themselves in Max's bed and began to watch the movie. As predicted, Chloe fell asleep 10 minutes after the movie had started, but instead of waking her up, Max cuddled her girlfriend even closer and let her sleep. Soon, her eyes got heavy too and she drifted into a restless slumber.

* * *

Max sat at her desk and browsed through all the pictures she'd taken of her and Chloe. She felt anger, sadness, despair and loneliness. Every shot she looked at was another sting in her heart.

She took a peek at her phone and felt worry as there was no message or missed call.

It knocked at the door, but she didn't feel like answering. She didn't even felt like seeing someone, except Chloe. Nonetheless the door was opened.

"Maxine…" Vanessa's soft voice chimed from behind.

Instantly, Max felt burning hate inside of her, while her hands became clenched fists. "What?" she answered with an agitated tone.

She heard how her mom sniffed before she continued. "Maxine, you have to be strong now."

Hearing that her mother's voice sounded so brittle and shaky, she finally turned around, only to see that Vanessa's cheeks were wet and her eyes red-cried. The girl's anger was replaced by worry. "Mom! Wh-what happened?"

"I-it's Chloe. She…the police just called and…"

Hearing Chloe's name, Max jumped up, darted towards her mom and grabbed her by her arms. "What is with Chloe? What happened? Dammit, mom, tell me!" she said with some panic.

Vanessa mustered all her strength to continue. "…th-they found her…in the streets. Sh-she probably was mugged and…" This was the point when she lost her composure. The brunette woman covered her mouth with her hand and began to cry out every word. "How could anybody do something like this to a poor girl like her?"

"Do what? For fucks sake, mom, just tell me!" Max yelled at her mom, shaking her intensly.

"Oh my poor baby-girl, I'm so sorry!" she just answered, brushing with a shivering hand over her daughter's cheek.

Slowly, Max put the pieces of the puzzle together and began to understand what happened to Chloe. Why she never received a message or sign. Her worry changed now into grief, desperation and denial. "No." she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks. She shook her head and moved away from her mom. "N-no. Th-this can't be. You're shitting me!" But her mother's answer was the shaking of her head. Max sobbed as realization struck her with full force. She would've collapsed to the ground, if Vanessa hadn't caught her. Now in the soothing arms of her mom, she let out every emotional pain in a loud cry.

"I'm so sorry, Maxine! So, so sorry." she comforted her daughter.

Hearing those words, however, didn't sooth her. Something happened inside of Max, something that she never experienced before. Every feeling she just had, turned into hate. Pure, burning hate. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" she shouted at her mom and pushed her away.

"Maxine…" Vanessa said in a quiet tone, trying to calm down her daughter. But as she tried to touch her arm, Max ripped it away from her grasp.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she kept on yelling. But then her voice became low and threatening. "You send her away. You threw her out. It was your fault. You killed her! Her blood is on your hands!"

"M-Maxine, I didn't know…"

All the anger that had been building up inside of her was suddenly released by a heavy punch right in Vanessa's face, sending her wailing to the ground.

"DIDN'T KNOW?!" Max screamed out. "You didn't know that something might happen to her, if you send her out there at night, all by herself, seriously?"

"Maxine…" Vanessa pleaded, but Max felt no emotions for her mother, not anymore.

"You wanted her dead, didn't you?" the young girl whispered with an anger dripping, shivering voice and stepped closer to her, on the floor laying, mother again. "You prayed for this, didn't you?" But the brunette woman didn't respond, earning her a kick in the stomach by her own daughter, which made her cry out in agony. "TELL ME!"

"Maxine, stop it! You're hurting your mom!" her dad yelled as he rushed into the room and intervened, by taking Max into a tight hold and pulled her away from her mother, before she could place another kick.

"She's not my mom anymore! Lemme go!" she screamed as she tried to struggle against her father's strength, but to no avail.

"No! You're under shock, Maxine. You're not thinking straight. Just calm down, okay? Calm. Down." he said, his voice getting calmer with every word. Max's fighting became weaker with every second, until she hang limp in the arms of her father and began to sob again. "That's it, Maxine. Calm down." Ryan turned his daughter around and gazed with his also watery eyes into hers deeply. "Max, I'm going to take care of your mom now, okay? I want you to stay up here. I'll be right back. Got it?"

Max answered with a nod. She felt empty, without any motivation. Even after her parents had left the room, she just stood there, not moving a limb. After a while she raised her gaze and instantly saw the picture that was still shown at the screen of her Laptop. A picture that showed her and Chloe, arm in arm, having a great time. Her face grimaced again, as she felt the emotional pain return. This pain dwelled inside of her, it made her feel angry again. She wanted to release it and so she let it all out in a big eerie scream as she darted to her desk and smashed her Laptop against the wall. The various objects on the desktop, including her cameras, followed stat. Everything laid on the floor in bits and pieces after Max additionally had kicked and stomped on it. Once she was done with her thrashing, she stumbled back into the middle of her room, took some deep breathes and gathered every bit of strength for one last scream.

"CHLOEEEE!"


	14. Chapter 14: Charity

**Chapter 14: Charity**

"CHLOEEEE!"

Chloe fell out of the bed as Max suddenly woke up with a start, screaming and lashing out. Her Laptop hit the ground with a loud thud.

It took the strawberry-blonde girl some time to snap out of her first shock, but as soon as she was able to think clear, she jumped into bed again and tried to calm down her girlfriend.

"Max! Calm down, it's me…FUCK!" A fist hit her right in the face, followed by a foot in the stomach. The blonde groaned in pain, but mustered every bit of strength and threw herself on the still screaming Max, pinning her down on the mattress. "Calm down, Maxi! Sssh, I'm right here. Please, calm down…calm…down." she said with a shivering voice, brushing with her hand through the brunette girl's hair.

Finally, Max's screaming stopped and was replaced by a constant sobbing and sniffing. "Oh Chloe…" she managed to speak and embraced her most precious person in a tight hug.

"I'm here, Maxi…I'm here!" she soothed, sat her up and rocked the smaller girl gently.

The door flew open and the lights were turned on as Vanessa and Ryan rushed into the room, both of their faces showing great concern.

"What happened?" the brunette woman asked, sitting down on the bed.

Chloe gazed at her. "I-I don't know. She…she woke up like this. Probably a nightmare."

"Maxine?" the small girl's mom spoke and tried to touch her daughter, who, however, flinched upon her mother's touch, digging her head even deeper into Chloe's shoulder.

"Did you two watch horror movies again?" Ryan said sternly as he looked at the on the floor laying Laptop.

"N-no. Just Star Wars. We…"

"I-I'm fine…I'm okay…j-just a nightmare." Max spoke, her voice muffled, because it was still dug into Chloe's shoulder.

"I told you, these damn pills are messing with her head. She never had such heavy nightmares before." Max's dad suddenly mentioned, glancing at his wife, who exhaled deeply and looked at her lap.

"I…I think you're right. I'll call the doctor right after the holidays and tell him that we won't give her these pills anymore. Maxine…" Vanessa touched the shoulder of her daughter again, but this time, Max didn't back away. "I'm sorry that I made you take this stuff. I…" She sighed. "I should've listened to you and your dad."

"It's okay, mom. I-I don't blame you." the small girl said, raising her head from Chloe's shoulder. As she looked at her mom with a forced smile, the hateful feelings of the nightmare still fresh in her mind, Vanessa gasped.

"Oh my god! Maxine, your nose!"

Max brushed with the back of her hand over her nostrils, only to see that it was full of blood. "Damn!" she muttered.

With a swift move, Chloe took off her already blood spattered shirt and handed it to the brunette girl. "Here! It's dirty anyway." she said with a wry smile, now just wearing a tank top over her bra.

Max took the shirt and held it under her nose. "Thanks, Chlo!"

"I'm going to get you a cold cloth for your nose." Vanessa said and stood up.

"And a cooling pad for Chloe." Ryan added, making everyone look at him. "Because this…" He pointed at Chloe's left eye. "…is gonna be a nice shiner." His wife nodded and left rapidly to get the needed goods.

The blonde girl touched the throbbing spot under her eye and hissed. "Shit!"

"Oh my dog! D-did I do that?" the freckled girl asked, her eyes welling up again. "I-I'm so sorry, Chlo!" She tried to touch her girlfriend's cheek, but was stopped by her.

"It's okay, Maximus. You didn't mean to, and it doesn't hurt that much." the blonde replied, giving her a warm smile.

"I'm gonna take care of those devilish pills now."

"Y-you don't have to." Chloe said as Ryan was about to leave the room, which made him turn around and glance at Chloe, who was exchanging some glares with Max. "I…uhm...I already flushed them down the toilet, 'cause I don't want Max to be drugged. She…she doesn't need this. Sorry!"

At first, it seemed like Max's dad was about to go ballistic on the taller girl, but instead a smile grew on his face. "Well, looks like you had the courage to do what I never was able to."

"So…uh…I'm not in trouble?"

"Trouble for what?" Vanessa asked as she returned.

"Chloe cursed, because she touched her going-to-be black eye." her husband answered, giving the blonde girl a wink.

"Oh my poor dear! Here, put this on your eye, it will help against the pain." the brunette woman soothed and handed her the cooling pad.

"Thanks!"

"And a cold cloth for my baby-girl."

"Thanks, mom!" Max wiped away the blood in her face and held the cool fabric under her nose.

Vanessa took Chloe's blood-soaked shirt and headed to the door again. "I'll wash your shirt first thing in the morning, Chloe. If you two need anything, just tell us, we'll be awake for at least another hour."

"G'night, kids!" Ryan said and closed the door as he and Vanessa left their daughter's room.

As soon as her parents were gone, Max laid her head back on Chloe's shoulder. Some new tears formed in her eyes, but this time out of relief that her nightmare hadn't been reality. At least, not yet.

Chloe brushed with her fingers over Max's back. She felt that her girlfriend was far away from being alright. "Wanna tell me?" she asked in a quiet tone.

The last time, something like this happened, Max refused to tell Chloe about her dream. But this time it was different. Last time the blonde wasn't there to see her awakening from such a horrible nightmare. Besides, Max had the feeling that she needed to share this burden with Chloe eventually or else she would lose it at some point.

Taking some deep breathes, Max gathered her courage. "Chloe, I…I dreamt that you were dead."

"Dead?" Chloe scoffed. "That would be a shame."

Noticing that Chloe wasn't taking it seriously, Max pushed her away. "That's not funny, Chlo!" she said with some agitation. "Or would you laugh when the police calls and tells you that I've been mugged and murdered in the streets of Seattle, huh?"

"Max, I-I…"

Her voice began to tremble. "No! You would despair. You would scream. You would want to die!"

Surprised by her girlfriend's outbreak, Chloe tried to calm her down. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to make fun of you, but...damn, it was just a stupid dream. I'm right here, alive, not dead in the gutter."

At first, Max had the feeling that it was time to tell Chloe the truth, but now she wasn't so sure anymore. What if Chloe wouldn't believe, or worse, made more fun of her? What if she would call her crazy or a drama queen? All those doubts were cycling inside of her mind and made her change her decision. "Chloe…" she sighed. "Just dreaming about losing you almost drives me nuts. I…I don't know, if I could take it…"

Before she was able to finish her sentence, Chloe took her into another tight hug. "I won't die, Max!" she soothed, brushing through her brown hair. "Damn, I just managed to make you my girlfriend, the hell I will give that up!"

"I love you, Chlo!" Max muttered into the blonde's chest.

"I love you, too, Max!" she replied. Both stayed in this tight embrace for a while, enjoying their closeness and warmth.

"So…uhm…" Chloe broke the silence. "What shall we do now? It's just a bit after 10 and we're awake now. Wanna watch another movie, or…"

"No." Max answered plainly, and broke the hug. "I…" She exhaled deeply, the images of her nightmare still swirling inside of her mind. It took the young girl a lot of strength not to burst out into tears again, despite Chloe's soothing presence. "I'm all sweaty a-and my face is full of blood. I…I just need a shower to calm down. And then…I'm gonna play some WoW."

Chloe looked at Max with great concern. She felt that her girlfriend was still very far away from being okay. She saw how she was hurting, saw that this nightmare took a lot of her. "Should I keep you some company? I-I mean not in the shower, but…y'know…talk with you 'n shit."

"No, but thanks." the small girl answered with a wry, but also forced, smile. "I-I just need some time for myself." She stood up, walked to her closet, took out her pajama.

"Max..." Chloe suddenly addressed the brunette, making her stop before she left the room. "I…" she began, her voice shivering. "I'm here, okay?" But Max just closed the door without turning around or giving her an answer.

* * *

As the hot water hit her body, it almost felt like she'd entered another dimension. Everything around her went silent. Everything became unimportant. Sadly, this effect lasted only for a few moments. Without any other input, Max's mind instantly wandered back to her nightmare, the latest Vision she had about Chloe's demise.

A sob escaped her mouth, then another one. Her face grimaced in emotional pain and she embraced her body with her arms. She had to sit down onto the bottom of the bathtub or else her legs wouldn't have been able to hold her anymore. Max's crying intensified. Hot tears were mixing with hot water.

All of a sudden, her body was embraced by another pair of arms, while strawberry-blonde hair was falling over her shoulder as Chloe laid her head on it. "I'm so sorry, Maxi. But I couldn't let you alone. Not like this." she whispered, her voice trembling.

But Max didn't mind. She welcomed the soothing closeness, despite that, originally, she wanted to be alone. It calmed her down. Made her forget the horrors of her dream. It gave her certainty. Certainty that Chloe was still alive and with her. That she wasn't alone. That she still had a chance to save her again, and this gave her new strength to fight. It became exhausting to fight for her love's life, but it was worth it. Chloe was worth dying for.

Max broke the hug and turned around, gazing at Chloe, who was still completely dressed, but already soaked by the constant stream of hot water. Both girls were sitting in the tub, looking at each other for some time.

' _I need to tell her! She's so worried about me and…she did the right thing. I was so blinded by these negative feelings that I pushed her away instead of letting her comfort me. But she saw it. She knew…no, she felt that I needed her. She's so caring, so full of love. I need her and she needs me. I'm gonna tell her about my Visions! But not right now. At first I have to figure out the reasons which caused those horrible events and try everything to stop them!_ '

"Maxi?" Chloe spoke and touched Max's arm softly, bringing her back to reality.

The brunette girl focused on her most beloved Chloe again. Her body was flooded by the incredible joyful and warm feeling of deep love. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck. "Thank you, Chlo!" she whispered.

"For what?"

"For ignoring my stupid idea of wanting to be alone. I was too dumb to see that I needed you and…" Max sighed. "You just did the right thing and didn't give up on me. I'm just glad that you're here."

"It felt like the right thing to do, but actually…I could've bet that you'd go all ballistic on me." Chloe said with a scoff.

"And why would I do that?"

"Well, for starters, I ignored your wish for some space and…uhm…well…maybe for barging into the shower."

Max broke the hug and gazed at Chloe, who averted the brunette's blue eyes. Her face was completely blushed, although Max couldn't tell if it was caused by the hot water or because of her.

' _Okay, I think this is the right moment to talk about this stuff, too. Ugh!_ ' the younger girl thought and felt how her head was about to turn into a tomato again.

"Chloe…" Max began, making her girlfriend look at her. "I-I…uh…w-we need to…uhm…talk…about this…uh…ugh." She took some deep breathes to calm down her nerves. "Listen, I know that couples are supposed to…y'know…do way more stuff then just cuddling and kissing, but…you're older than me and…probably want…uhm…to do more…and…"

"I-I know what you mean and…uhm…I get it, Maxi." Chloe threw in. "You're not ready, yet, and…uh…need some time 'n stuff, right?"

Averting her girlfriend's gaze, Max nodded. Almost fearing that Chloe might be hurt or offended, but instead, her chin got touched softly and her eyes brought back to meet with Chloe's deep-blue ones.

A warm smile formed on the blonde girl's lips. "It's okay, Maxi. Really. I won't push you. Just…y'know…say when you're ready and we'll take the next step together, 'kay? I-I mean, this stuff is new to me, too, right?" She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Max's mouth. Then her smile changed into a grin. "So…uhm…want me to wash your back, or…"

Max backed away with a fake sour expression and gave Chloe a soft push. "You're impossible!"

"Just in the mood to mock you a bit, 'cause I know it cheers you up. Does it work?"

"A bit…maybe." she answered with a wry smile. "Sorry that I got you drenched."

"Needed a shower anyway." Chloe replied with a shrug. "But I really should get rid of my clothes, 'cause it's fucking uncomfortable." she added and started to undress, making Max turn around with a blush. "Oh shit, I'm sorry! I…uhm…I let you finish first and then…"

"Chloe, i-it's okay. I'm…I'm done showering, so…t-the shower is all yours!" she stammered, opened the glass door and stepped out of the shower.

A bunch of wet garments landed on the ground right beside Max, while she was drying off her clammy body. First a blue jeans, then a white tank top, followed by a black bra and a purple pantie. The brunette girl stopped breathing and raised her gaze. As she saw the blurry silhouette of her now naked girlfriend through the milky glass, she couldn't do anything else but to gulp and to stare. Her heartrate increased rapidly and a strange, warm feeling built up inside of her stomach.

' _Okay, that…is new. Why am I staring at her? Why do I have the wish to break this stupid milky glass? Why…_ '

"Max?" Chloe's voice interrupted her train of thought, making the young girl startle.

"Y-yeah?" she almost blurted out, because her body was still tense and full of adrenaline, ready to run away.

"Can you please fetch me a towel before you leave?"

"O-okay!" With shaky hands, Max opened the closet and took out a fresh towel, instantly dropping it.

' _Oh my gosh, Max. Just keep it together! She's just asking for a towel, not for drying her off._ '

She picked it up again and put it on the edge of the sink. "H-here you go."

"Thanks, Maxi! Love ya!" It chimed from within the shower.

Max just wrapped her towel around her body, grabbed her pajama and left in a fast pace without another word.

* * *

"Shit! Let's hope it's still working." Max cursed silently as she picked up her Laptop. Without finding any external damage, she plugged the power cable in and fired it up. "Thank dog!" she sighed as it came to life. While it was booting up, Max's mind wandered.

' _I don't know why, but everything feels strange again. Just like the time when I started to have feelings for Chloe. Somehow I had the need to see her naked, but…'_ Max covered her face with her hands and exhaled deeply. ' _Maybe I should just focus on this fucked up Vision, this is my top priority right now, not my raging hormones._ '

The brunette girl rummaged through her old camera bag and brought forth her journal. Then she opened the upper drawer of her desk and took out a notebook with the description _Possible locations for nature shots_.

' _My Vision log book. I hate this thing, but it became an important tool to analyze my dreams and Visions.'_

She opened it and flicked through the pages. Every Vision Max had so far has been written down in there. A mess of notes and lose sheets of paper filled it additionally.

' _Most of the details occur to me hours or sometimes days later. Therefore it's almost impossible to bring everything in order._ '

On the last page of this book was a drawing of different lines, connecting catchwords, dates and references.

' _I tried to bring some sense into this messed up shit, but so far, there's no direct connection between them, except Chloe. Chloe's fate is the only consistency._ '

As the door to her room got opened and Chloe came in, she closed the log again and hid it under her journal. Two arms were wrapping around her upper body and still wet, strawberry-blond hair touched her cheek as Chloe hugged Max from behind.

"Whatcha doing there, my little geek?" she whispered warmly.

Max leaned her head against her girlfriend's and touched her bare arm, trying to get as much contact as possible. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the warm feeling of love rushing through her body again.

"I'm still thinking about how I should distract myself."

"Hmm…how about some cuddling?"

The brunette girl's eyes opened instantly. Heat crawled up into her face, while this strange hot feeling emerged again. Her body screamed _yes_ , but her mind chided her to focus on her Vision first.

"Thanks Chlo, but…" She exhaled, sadness suppressing her feelings of love. "I-I think I'm not in the mood for some cuddling right now."

"That's okay, Maximus." Chloe replied and placed a peck on Max's reddened cheek. "I'm gonna prepare my makeshift-bed and gonna listen to some music. But…" She broke the hug, walked over to her backpack, dropped the towel that had covered her body and started to put on her pajama. "…if you need some Chloe, just gimme a sign, 'kay?"

Max raised her sight and gulped again as she saw her girlfriend's bare back and butt. "O-okay. Th-thanks, Chlo!" Then she focused on her Laptop and opened a folder with all the recently taken pictures of her and Chloe.

' _Okay, Caulfield, now focus. Let's start from the beginning. I watched some pictures of me and Chloe on my Laptop. They looked pretty unfamiliar, so there's the possibility that I haven't taken them yet. Checking this is the less obvious thing to do, as long as Chloe's still awake._ '

Max put on her headphones and listened to some relaxing music, while she browsed through what felt like thousands of pictures, trying to remember those from her dream and compare them with the already existing ones.

Unaware of how much time had gone by, Max glimpsed at Chloe, only to see, that she was laying on her back, earplugs still in her ears and in deep slumber.

A warm smile formed on the young girl's lips as she stood up and walked over to her sleeping girlfriend. She pulled out the plugs from her ears, turned off the still blaring rock-music and tugged the cover over her entire body. "Nighty night, my love!" she whispered and placed a soft kiss on her mouth, before she returned to her desk.

' _Okay, concentration, Max! I don't wanna lose her."_ Max thought and opened the log book again. ' _None of the pictures I looked at in my dream are neither on my computer nor my cam. This means, I haven't taken them yet and the event hasn't occurred…or at least it's highly unlikely.'_

She scribbled some notes in her book.

' _Then my mom came into my room and…and told me about Chloe, and…it broke me. Understandable.'_ She wiped a tear from her cheek as she remembered all those negative feelings. ' _But what really disturbs me, is this anger I felt towards my mom. Of course we don't get along every day, but…beating and yelling at her? That's really heavy and so not me! So, what happened?'_

Max massaged her temple and sighed. "Come on!"

' _Wait! I accused her! Accused her of…of…ugh…what was it? She threw her out! Yes, that's it! My mom threw Chloe out at night, but…why? Did Chloe do something wrong? But I can't think of anything that could make my mom go all ballistic on her. No, mom's gonna find out about our relationship, panics and throws her out. That has to be the reason!_ '

Again, she scribbled some notes onto the paper and connected some phrases with lines.

' _Okay, this is my battle plan: I need to do anything to keep my mom from finding out about us. This means, we need to stop anything that could give her a hint. No cuddling, no kissing and no risky maneuvers._ ' She shifted her gaze to Chloe again. ' _I'm so sorry, Chlo, but it needs to be. I can't lose you! I hope she'll understand as soon as I tell her about this whole messed up shit.'_

With another big exhale, Max closed her log book and put it back into the drawer. Then she opened her journal and began to write down the events, her thoughts and feelings of this day, until her eye lids became heavier and heavier. She laid her head onto her arms on the desk and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Mmmh…mo-om…mmmmh…I don't wanna wash my ears…" mumbled Max as she dreamt about that her mom was sticking a wet cloth into her ear. She never liked, even hated it. It felt gross.

Soon, her drowsiness abated and as she became more and more conscious, she knew that something was wrong. Still grossed out by this hateful feeling, she jumped up with a shriek, fell from the chair she'd been sleeping on and hit the ground hard with a groan.

"Whoa, holy fuck, dude!" Chloe's voice chimed as her face came slowly into Max's focus as soon as the blurriness went away.

"Ch-Chloe? What happened?" Max said in a slight drowsy voice.

"Are you alright, Maxi?" the blonde asked with some worry, helping her girlfriend to sit up.

"I-I think so." Max massaged her neck and shoulders, while she still tried to wake up entirely, the awful clammy feeling still in her ear. "Why is my ear so wet?"

Chloe looked away, gazing at her lap and scratching the back of her neck. "Well…uhm…that's…kinda my fault. I…uh…"

It took the brunette girl only a few moments to understand what Chloe just did. "Wait! You woke me up by sticking a wet finger into my ear?!"

"Uhm…yup."

Before Chloe knew what had happened, she got a hard and strong punch on her shoulder.

"OUCH! What the fuck was that for?!" she yelled, rubbing the throbbing spot.

"Chloe Elizabeth Price, I heard that!" Vanessa's voice chimed from outside the room.

"Sorry!"

"This was for waking me up like an asshole! And this…" Max leaned forward and gave her girlfriend a kiss. "…to sooth the pain. Next time, try something else, okay?"

"I did! Shaking, fondling, tickling, I even kissed your entire head…nothing worked."

"Then why didn't you let me sleep?"

"Because your mom's about to freak. Said that you planned something for us today and that we shouldn't be back too late."

Max sighed and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"About nine-ish."

"What?!" the brunette girl blurted out, jumped up and darted to her closet. "Damn, I-I need to change, a-and we need to hurry, and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chloe said, and stopped Max in her panicky tracks. "Chillax, Maxi! We have the whole day. Wherever we're going, your mom isn't expecting us back until 5 pm. That's 8 hours."

Taking a deep inhale, the smaller girl calmed down a bit. "I know. But there's so much to see."

Chloe gave her girlfriend a warm smile and touched her shoulder softly. "Max, we've time until – literally – next year."

"You're right. Sorry for making such a big thing. It's just…Seattle is so awesome and I want to show you as much as possible."

"I know, but it won't kill me to miss one attraction." Chloe mentioned with a shrug. "So, how about we just get a bit mushy, then have a nice breakfast and leave a bit later, hmm?"

Hearing the word _kill_ , made Max remember of what she found out from her last Vision. She gasped and backed away from Chloe as she tried to hug here. "N-no!" she accidently blurted out, making the blonde look at her with an almost hurt expression and furrowed eyebrows. "Chloe…" She sighed. "I'm sorry, but…we need to stop doing such things."

' _It really hurts me to do this to her. I love her and I'd love to cuddle with her the whole day, but…'_

"Why?"

"Because…" Max saw the hurt in her eyes. She saw how Chloe didn't understand, and it ached her heart. "Because it's too risky around my mom. I…I don't want her to find out."

"But…" Chloe began to reply, but was immediately interrupted by Max, who touched her cheek softly and looked deep into her blue eyes.

"Chloe, I need you to trust me on this one, please! I'll explain everything to you in time, but not right now, okay?"

' _If I tell her now, it is possible that this might fuck up everything.'_

Still radiating a lot of unbelief, Chloe nodded. "Okay. I trust you, but…"

Instantly, Max wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck and pulled her in for a tight hug, whispering in her ear. "Thank you! I love you so much!"

At first, the blonde was completely surprised and stunned, but relaxed more and more the longer she was embraced by Max. "I love you, too!"

* * *

The winter sun shone through the thick safety glass and enlightened the scenery beyond it. The shutter of her digi-cam clicked as Max took another shot, before the blinding fireball was covered by the next cloud again.

The young photographer hummed in satisfaction as she looked at the taken picture on the small screen of her camera.

"Wow! This is so amazing!" Chloe cheered and hugged Max from behind.

"Told ya, the Space Needle is worth a visit." the brunette giggled.

"I promise you, as soon as we're old enough and have some more money, I'm gonna drag your sweet ass up here for a date!"

"That'd be cool." Max replied enjoying her girlfriend's closeness, as, suddenly, Chloe snapped the cam out of her hand with a snicker.

"Selfie-time!" she spoke out loud, embraced Max's shoulder and aimed the lens towards their faces. "Say Space Needle!"

"Space Needle!" the two girls said in unison and with another click the next picture was shot.

Max took back her camera and gave Chloe a soft push. "You're such a dork!" which was answered by the blonde with another giggle. Then she looked at the just taken picture on her cam and almost dropped it with a gasp.

' _This picture! This is the picture I saw in my Vision! Okay Max, don't panic! You know the drill: no cuddling, no kissing, no risky maneuvers._ '

"Maxi? Are you okay?"

A flick in front of her eyes brought Max back to reality. "Y-yeah. I-I…I just…"

"Are you sure? Has my make-up rubbed off my black-eye? Or is my shot that bad?" Chloe asked with a sad face.

"Wh-what?! No! It's really cool. You've got talent. Here, look for yourself."

Max handed Chloe the camera and the blonde whistled, followed by a wide, mockery grin. "Well, I think you've got some competition now."

"You wish!" replied Max and gave her another soft push. Then she gazed at her phone to check the time. "C'mon, we've got one last point left on our _Chloe's-must-see-in-Seattle-list_!"

"Cool. Sooo, where are we going?" the taller girl asked while they headed for the elevator.

"You'll see." the brunette responded with a wink.

The elevator doors opened with a _Bing_ and closed right after Chloe and Max had entered the complete empty lift. All of a sudden, Chloe grabbed Max by her shoulders, pushed her softly against the wall of the cabin and gave her long kiss. At first, the younger girl was entirely taken aback and tried to free herself, but only half-hearted. Although she knew that this was against her plan, she let it happen. She wanted it, too. Max literally yearned for this the whole day.

Chloe broke the kiss. Her breathing was fast and she gave her girlfriend a long and intense glare. "I'm sorry, Max! I know, you asked me not to do such things, but I couldn't hold back. I…I just love you too much, and not being allowed to touch or kiss you is just torture." she said with a soft voice.

"I know." Max whispered back with sadness, as she remembered the reason and saw the hurt in Chloe's deep-blue eyes again. The young girl didn't know what to do or what to feel. The fear of losing Chloe was a constant threat, hovering over her like a ton of stones, ready to crush her fragile body. Everything was wrong again, and if she would've been alone right now, she would've had a meltdown.

"But I trust you." Chloe spoke, ending the uncomfortable silence and gave her another soft peck, before the doors opened again with another _Bing_. "Let's continue our little tour, hmm?"

Hearing those words of commitment soothed her a bit, but not enough. It still felt for Max like she'd betrayed her girlfriend, like she lied to her continuously. The pressure of finally telling her the truth increased with every moment. But when was the right time to do it? So far, everything Max was able to do in her state was to stall. And if Chloe hadn't put her arm around her shoulder and lead her out of the elevator, she would've stayed there. Forever lost in her thoughts.

* * *

"The Chase Space?" Chloe said with furrowed eyebrows as she gazed at a sign above a glass front, which was decorated with colorful light strings and other Christmassy stuff. "Sounds for me like a place where art-hipsters meet to get high."

"Well, you're actually not that wrong. Although, they don't get high on drugs but on art, 'cause this is an art-gallery!" Max cheered with a big smile, but only received an expression of pure unbelief paired with crossed arms.

"So, you dragged my ass to an art-gallery, though you knew I'm not into art at all?"

But Max's smile didn't even falter a bit. "Yup, because…" The smaller girl now turned to Chloe, crossing her arms equally. "If you visit the Mecca of Arts, you've got to visit at least one gallery. Besides, you have an artistic side inside of you. I saw your doodles and they're so cool. And I know that you're drawing templates for tattoos, secretly. Truth be told, if I'd be 18 and into tats, I'd make you my artist!"

Chloe let out a big sigh, dropping her arms in defeat. "You're such a nosy smartass! Fine, let us look at some overpriced paintings."

"Not paintings, Chlo. This is one of the city's most famous art-galleries for modern art, in this case for photography."

"Fine, overpriced photos then. Are you even sure that they will let us into this fancy-pansy place?"

"Definitely. Every Christmas, they throw a charity event. It's an exhibition where everybody, even the homeless, is invited to look at the best pictures of the year."

"Well, seems like I'm lacking some more excuses. Ugh, fuck it, let's get it on!"

"That's the spirit!" Max announced victoriously, hooked her arm with Chloe's and led her inside, where everything looked even more pompous than from the outside.

The warm smell of cookies, eggnog and warm punch engulfed the two girls as they took off their beanies and opened their jackets. The room was filled with the almost quiet sound of soft chitter-chatter from the few peoples that were already there.

"Whoa, they even got a bigass buffet!" Chloe whisper-yelled to Max and headed straight for the food. The blonde took a handful of cookies and stuffed the sweets in her mouth. "Diff if rea'y goo'." she mumbled, spilling some crumbs onto Max, who gave her an angry glare.

"Will you stop behaving like an oaf?" the smaller girl hissed angrily, giving her girlfriend a slight push.

"Sorry, Maxi!" Chloe replied after she'd gulped down the food, blushed in shame.

"It's fine." Max sighed, regretting a bit that she'd dragged Chloe here. "Just…take some cookies and let's watch some photos, okay?"

They both strolled through the gallery, looking at the different pictures. Every time Max saw the photo of a famous artist she became giddy and started to give Chloe a small lecture, which the older girl mostly commented with a bunch of plain _uh-huhs_.

Suddenly, Chloe stopped in front of a picture. "Okay, that is kinda hot!" she spoke out.

Max stopped in her tracks and gazed at the shot. She gasped and her head became beet-red as she saw that it showed an almost completely naked woman. "Th-that's a nude, Chlo!"

"So?" the blonde replied and as she glimpsed at her totally ashamed girlfriend, a big, mockery grin formed on her lips. "Don't tell me that my little photo-freak here doesn't like those kind of shots." She leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Or does it turn you on?"

"No, it doesn't!" Max almost shrieked. The push that followed wasn't as soft as the others before and made Chloe stumble backwards with a groan, while Max walked on to another picture.

"Maxi?" Chloe asked cautiously after she'd caught up, but the brunette girl stayed silent, staring at the exhibited photo in front of her. "Listen, I'm sorry. I…"

"It kinda turned me on." Max interrupted her.

"What?!"

Averting her sight from the picture, Max gazed at Chloe intensely. "Chloe, I'm…I started to have feelings…strange feelings…I…" She let out a big sigh. "I-I don't know what to do. Everything changes so fast and…"

Giving her a warm smile, Chloe touched Max's slender shoulder softly. "Don't push yourself too hard, Maxi! These feelings are normal, and just having them, doesn't mean that you are ready for…y'know…more."

Max closed in and gave her girlfriend a tight hug. "Ugh, growing up just sucks!"

"I know, Maxi, I know." the blonde comforted, enjoying the closeness once more.

"How did you get through with it, without me noticing it?"

Chloe broke the embrace and shrugged. "Bawling. Lots of Bawling and a shitload of ice cream."

"Okay, that sounds very depressing."

"Really? It makes me kinda hungry, though. I'm gonna grab us some more cookies." the blonde said in a nonchalantly tone and started to make her way to the buffet again, but was stopped by Max before she was out of reach.

"How are you doing this?" she asked, gazing into her girlfriend's eyes deeply.

"Doing what?" Chloe replied with furrowed eyebrows.

"Staying so positive? Always seeing the bright side?"

Chloe leaned forward with a wide smile. Once again, her voice was merely a whisper. "Just look into the mirror and you'll know the answer!" The blonde chuckled and went on with her hunt for crunchy sweets.

Max stayed behind, completely stunned as she realized again, what an important part of Chloe's life she'd always been. Chloe needed her and she needed Chloe. They were bound together, not able to function without each other.

"A fabulous shot, isn't it?" chimed a female voice right beside the young girl, startling her as she was brought back into the here-and-now. She turned her head and glanced at a blond-haired, young girl with a pixie-cut, dressed in very fancy clothes, who was still looking at the exhibited photo.

Not wanting to be rude, Max now gazed at the picture to give the girl an answer. Before, she'd just pretended to look at it to avert Chloe, but now that she took a closer look, she gasped. "Wowser! I-is this an original Jefferson?"

"Indeed it is." said the other girl. "I take it that you're familiar with his work?"

"Y-yeah, he's one of my favorite photographers." Max answered, her voice dripping with praise about her idol.

"Samesies here!" the blonde cheered, now shifting her gaze towards Max, a friendly smile on her face.

"Hey Maxi, I brought you some hot chocolate!" spoke Chloe as she came back from the buffet, reaching her girlfriend a cup of hot chocolate.

The brunette girl took the hot beverage and gave Chloe a warm smile. "Thanks, Chlo!" she said, and glanced at the other girl again. "Anyway, I'd love to meet him in person some day."

The original smile of the other girl had now changed into a cold expression. "Well, he's gonna attend the New Year's Eve soiree, but sadly it will be a closed event, for invited persons only."

"And what makes you think that you will be invited?" Chloe shot back as she recognized the arrogant and hostile tone in the other young girl's voice.

"How about the fact that my parents are the owners of this gallery?" the pixie-blonde said with an even more arrogance-dripping voice.

Chloe crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. Max knew this expression. She knew it very well. Her girlfriend was about to go into full pissed-off mode, backtalking included. She scoffed, scanning her opponent from head to toe. "Oooh, I'm sorry. I should've known by the ugly, overpriced stuff that covers your oh-so-privileged body."

Now the other girl crossed her arms, too. She radiated pure anger, clearly being insulted, but she tried suppressed it rather well. "At least I don't look like a street-rat fresh out of the gutter."

Unimpressed by this comment, a mischievous grin formed on Chloe's lips. "No, you don't. You're more like cheap copy of Paris Hilton. And rats are cute, by the way. Paris Hilton is not. So, when's your sex-tape coming out? I definitely want something to laugh at."

"I-I'm not a slut!" the blonde yelled, her hands clawing in her arms and her head red out of anger. With this outburst, the conversation drew more attention to the fighting girls.

"Yeah, you're not a slut, but definitely a bitch!" Chloe continued calmly, obviously amused.

"YOU…" the arrogant girl began to scream, but was interrupted by another female person.

"Victoria Maribeth Chase, what is this commotion all about?" angrily hissed a woman that could've been a perfect, but older and way taller clone of the girl she'd called Victoria.

Internally, Max already prepared herself to get thrown out of this gallery any moment now, because this woman was definitely the mother of this other girl and therefore the owner of this place. But to her own surprise, something completely different happened.

"We…" Victoria began, shifting her gaze between Max, Chloe and her mother. Her anger seemed to be gone and had been replaced by pure coldness, like she didn't want to show any weakness towards her mom. "We had a very lively conversation about Mark Jefferson's picture."

"Oh yes, this one is very controversial. And who are your…" Mrs. Chase glimpsed at the two girls derogatively. "Acquaintances?"

"These are…" Victoria started and looked intensively at Max, almost ordering her to continue her sentence.

"H-hi, I'm Max." the brunette said with a smile, trying to cool down the situation. But neither Chloe nor Victoria seemed to be willing to let it drop, still having their arms crossed and sights fixed at each other.

"Chloe." the strawberry-blonde spoke plainly.

Mrs. Chase's lips formed a fake smile. "It's a pleasure to see that some…young girls like you two have an interest in arts. A rather scarce sight these days."

"Your daughter seems to take it pretty seriously." Chloe said, the cynically undertone being unnoticed by the blonde woman, but not by Victoria, who gave her an even more agitated glare.

"Oh yes, she'd better be, because she's on her best way to become a famous photographer herself. Isn't this right, dear?"

This time, the girl with the pixie-cut let her gaze drop and exhaled, like this was a topic she doesn't want to talk about. "Yes, mom." she muttered.

Victoria's answer turned the fake smile into a satisfactory one, followed by an agreeing nod. "Well, since your discussion was so lively and I admire the opinion of other people, especially our young generation, let us take another look at this picture and discuss it again."

Realizing that Victoria's mother wouldn't take a no for an answer, the three girls looked at the picture again.

Max focused on the photo and tried to catch the details in order to interpret them. The shot was monochrome, showing a woman, her hands entangled in light strings. Her hair was a bit messed up and she looked like she was half asleep.

' _Controversial my ass! This shot makes me feel uncomfortable, like I should rip it from the wall.'_

For a split second a stinging pain rushed through Max's head, followed by a strange voice. ' _Oh Max…you have a gift!'_

' _Okay, what the fuck was that?'_ she asked herself internally, while a shiver went over her spine.

The small girl averted her sight from the picture, clearly being disgusted by it and shifted her gaze to the comforting presence of her girlfriend. But as her view fell on Chloe, who stood there, embracing her own body, Max knew that something wasn't right.

"Chloe?" she asked, touching her girlfriend's shoulder softly.

"This picture creeps the shit out of me." Chloe said with a shaking voice.

A snicker let both girls look at Mrs. Chase. "I don't think that it was Mark's intention to scare little girls."

"I-I think she's right. Something's off with this picture." Max replied, earning another skeptically glare from the blonde woman.

"And what should that be?"

"Just look at it, will ya?!" Chloe suddenly blurted out. "This woman…it seems like she didn't want to do this shot freely. Like she's been forced to do it. This isn't art! This is some sick, fucked up shit!" Tears were flowing down Chloe's cheeks as she moved closer to Max, who embraced her into a soothing hug.

"See, Victoria, and this is why I always say that art can't be understood by every person."

"Yes, mom." Victoria answered quietly, her gaze, again, lowered. Max recognized that, whatever she and Chloe were seeing in this picture, Victoria saw it, too. But she didn't say a word about it, because of her mother.

"Isn't your statement against the spirit of this charity event to grant every person access to art?" Chloe suddenly pointed out, breaking the hug. Her pissed-off mode was active again, but this time against Mrs. Chase.

Another chuckle of amusement emerged from the blonde woman. "Actually, no, Zoe."

"It's Chloe!"

"Yes, yes. Chloe, Zoe, whatever. But just because everyone can look at art, doesn't necessarily mean that they can understand it. Only privileged people are able to understand art."

Chloe crossed her arms again, this time really angry. "Wow, last time the world heard such fascist bullshit, our country bombed the shit out of Hitler."

Somehow, this comment hit a nerve. There was no snickering and no arrogance anymore. Mrs. Chase's face turned deep red out of anger. "This is outrageous! How dare you little brat calling me a Nazi?"

"I didn't call you a Nazi. Just said that your opinion belongs into this era, Eva!"

Max saw that Mrs. Chase had to fight to hold her composure, her jaw clenched. "Victoria, please see our guests here out!" she hissed.

"Thanks, but we know where the door is, Mrs. Braun. C'mon, Maxi!" Chloe snipped back, took Max's hand and walked past the Chases.

The cold winter air whipped into Max's face and sent another shiver through her body. She drank the rest of the hot chocolate, threw the paper cup into the next garbage bin and closed her jacket.

"Sorry for fucking this up, Maxi. But I couldn't take this shit anymore." Chloe mentioned with a sad face.

Max took a step towards her girlfriend and gave her a wry smile as she grabbed her hand again. "It's okay, Chlo. I…I would've done the same, if I weren't such a chicken."

"You're not a chicken. You backed me up when I freaked out." Chloe said warmly and brushed a lose streak out of Max's face. "That's worth more than raging against some assholes."

Max embraced Chloe again, the warm feeling if love rushed through her body and warmed her from the inside. Chloe always gave her confidence and showed her that there's more behind her cozy comfort-zone.

"Say, Maxi, do you have a pen?" the blonde suddenly asked.

The smaller girl backed away and gazed at her with furrowed eyebrows? "Why?"

A mischievous grin formed on Chloe's face. "Well, I wanna leave a message."

"Hmm…I just have an old red marker, which I always use as a scale. It should still work, though." Max said as she rummaged through her bag and brought forth a red permanent-marker.

Chloe picked it from her hand. "That should do the trick." With a whistle she walked over to the white board, standing in front of the gallery, and started to draw something on it. "Keep watch, 'kay?"

This time, Max's hands began to shake out of nervousness. Her head turned like the lamp of a lighthouse. She wanted to run away, but somehow the thrill kept her there. She literally enjoyed it to be Chloe's partner in crime. Luckily, no one cared about what Chloe was doing.

"Now that is what I call art!" she cheered with a smile, stepped back and looked at her masterpiece. It showed Mrs. Chase with a Hitler-beard and Hitler-hair-cut. In a speech bubble it said: 'Art is only for the privileged! -Mrs. Chase'

Max bobbed her head to one side as she took a look at the tagged white board. "I think you got her rather well. Told you, you're an artist!"

Both looked at each other and started to giggle, which turned into loud laughter as both began to run away.

* * *

It was almost dark as Chloe and Max reached the Caulfield's house. Both girls still giggled and laughed about the great adventures they both had experienced today.

Max began to rummage through her bag to take out her keys. "Shit!" she suddenly muttered, her hand still dug deep in her camera bag.

"What is it, Maxi? Have you lost your keys?" Chloe asked with some concern, rubbing her hands because of the further decreasing temperatures.

"N-no…at least I hope not. Ugh, dammit! The fabric between the compartments ripped, so my keys could be anywhere in there. Here, hold this!"

Completely annoyed by the holdup, the brunette girl pulled out everything that was in her way on her quest to find the infamous lost keys, and pressed it in Chloe's hands. Her instant-cam, the diary, note book, today's instant-pictures and other stuff. "Isn't it easier to use the door bell and continue your search inside? 'Cause, I don't know about you, but my ass is already frozen off and other important parts will follow soon." Chloe mentioned, yearning for the warmth inside of the house and a hot shower.

"Aaa-ha…gottcha!" Max triumphed, holding the keys in the air with a tingling sound and a big victorious grin on her face.

"Ma-ax…still freezing…ass is almost lost…need warmth!"

"Y-yeah…sorry!"

Max stuffed the items Chloe still held in her hands back in her bag in a hurry and opened the door.

"Finally!" the blonde sighed and rushed past her girlfriend.

After she'd closed the door, Max and Chloe took off their winter garments and boots. They headed straight into the kitchen, expecting Vanessa to still prepare Christmas dinner, but to their surprise, there was no cooking going on and the table was already set.

"Mom?" the brunette called out, but received no answer.

"Hey, your mom left a note!"

Max took the piece of paper out of Chloe's hand and read it.

 _Dear Maxine and Chloe,_

 _I need to get some more stuff from the grocery store. Dinner is already prepared and ready. Hope you two had a nice stroll through Seattle. I'll be back soon._

 _Kisses for Maxine and a hug for Chloe._

 _Vanessa_

 _P.S. Don't spoil your appetite with sweets!_

"Huh…" was everything Max brought forth.

"Well, looks like we got some spare time…" Chloe said with a shrug. Then she leaned closer to Max and spoke softly into her ear. "…and like we got the house all to ourselves. How about we go upstairs and get a bit mushy?"

Heat crawled up Max's face immediately, reddening her cheeks. She'd love to do it. She literally yearned for it. But as she remembered the dream and the picture, Max dropped her gaze and let out a sigh of frustration. "Chloe…I want to. I really do, but…"

"Yeah, I know. You don't want your mom to find out."

Now Chloe was the one who exhaled deeply, walked up and down the living room, her hands brushing through her strawberry-blonde hair. Max could see that it frustrated her, too. That this wasn't the holidays she'd expected. And this made Max sad. Her eyes were already welling up as she decided to walk over to her so much wanted girlfriend and embraced her into a very tight hug, hoping it would sooth Chloe enough. "I'm so sorry!" she said with a trembling voice.

Chloe laid her head on Max's shoulder and inhaled her scent, before she answered calmly. "I know and…it's just…I love you so much and…"

Max backed away, two pairs of watery blue eyes gazing at each other. "I love you, too, Chlo!" Overwhelmed by a strong wave of love, Max ignored everything around them, leaned in and placed a small kiss on her girlfriend's soft lips.

A big smile of joy formed on Chloe's lips. "Damn, Caulfield, you're such a tease!"

Max broke eye contact and looked at her feet. "M-maybe…uhm…w-wanna go upstairs and look at the pictures I took today?"

"Sounds awesome!" Chloe replied, took Max's hand and walked with her into the smaller girl's room.

* * *

"Wow, this one looks amazing, too! Can I get a copy of this one?"

"Sure thing!" said Max as she made another note on a sheet that was already filled with a lot of numbers. "I'll order them online and give them your address for delivery."

"Awesome! But…uh…what about…y'know…money?"

Already awaited this question, especially because Joyce still fought with the insurance company about the money, Max gave Chloe a warm smile. "Don't worry about it. It'll be my Christmas present for you."

"You're the best!" Chloe cheered in joy and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, which made the brunette girl giggle.

"You're welcome!"

Both girls quickly broke the hug as the front door got slammed shut loudly. "MAXINE CAULFIELD! GET YOUR BEHIND DOWN HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Vanessa yelled from downstairs.

Max's gaze dropped. "Uh-oh."

"Trouble?"

"Seems that way." the small girl sighed as she stood up from her chair and made her way to the door.

"But why?"

"I don't know. Guess there's only one way to find out." Max opened the door, but glimpsed one last time over her shoulder. "Stay here, I'll be back in a bit…hopefully with my head still attached."

Chloe just gave her a nod, glaring at Max with worry, before the door closed.

As Max came into the kitchen - the traditional Caulfield get-your-rage-room - her mom already stood there, her back facing the brunette girl, hands on the counter.

The young girl's hands were already clammy and her small heart hammered in her chest like crazy. Max knew that a shitstorm was heading her way and was about to hit her with full force. But still, she tried to play it cool.

"Wh-what's up, mom?" she asked with a low voice.

"Sit!" her mother ordered with a sharp tone, pointing at the stool right beside her.

' _Shit! Mom really seems do be angry at me. But why? Last time she behaved that strange, I wrecked her brand-new iPad and tried to hide it by tossing it in the trash can. I need to find out what's going on!'_

"Mom, what's…"

"I said…sit…down!" Vanessa interrupted her daughter, her tone making clear that this wasn't negotiable.

Like a little doe, trying to sneak past a big, hungry predator, Max approached the stool with slow and cautious movements and sat down. The nervousness was almost killing her and made it hard to bring out her next words.

"M-mom, wh-what's wrong?"

Vanessa's first answer was a scoff and as her mom suddenly turned around and faced her with an angry glare, she threw a picture in front of her. "This is wrong, Maxine!" her mother yelled, making Max almost fall from the stool.

Max glimpsed at the instant-photo in front of her and gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her hand. It was the shot that showed her and Chloe kissing under the mistletoe.

' _Oh no! This shot…this is how my mom found out about us. But…how did she get it?_ '

"Where…?" the girl began with a whisper, but couldn't even finish her question.

"…did I find it? Right on our doorstep."

' _No, no! It must've fallen out of my journal as I rummaged through my bag and gave Chloe my stuff. And I idiot didn't even notice…it's my fault!_ '

Tears were forming in the brunette girl's eyes as she shifted her gaze to her mom again, trying to calm her down, before her Vision's about to come true.

"Mom, I-I can explain."

"Yes, Maxine, I want an explanation, right now!" Vanessa spoke loudly at her daughter.

' _Okay, this is it. I have to do this right, so that Chloe doesn't get thrown out! But I don't think that lying might be the best option here._ '

Closing her eyes for a short moment, Max gathered all her courage to tell her mother the truth and to make a stand against her. "Mom, I and Chloe…we're in love. She's my…girlfriend."

"I can't believe it." Max's mom huffed, shook her head and began to walk up and down.

First tears were flowing down her cheeks, while her lips began to tremble. "Mom, please! I love her."

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

This sudden and surprising outburst of her mother destroyed every bit of build up courage in a blink of an eye. A first sob escaped the young girl's mouth.

Vanessa darted towards her daughter. "This here…" she hissed with gritted teeth and grabbed the photo from the counter, holding it in front of her. "…is over, right now!"

Completely shocked, Max had to watch with eyes wide open how her mother ripped the picture into pieces and threw them on the floor. Her crying intensified.

"I don't know how you're doing it or what you're gonna tell her, but I want this…this slut out of my house, this instant!"

"No!" Max cried out in desperation. She wanted to speak up; wanted to tell her mother that this was a fatal mistake; that she should go to hell. But instead, fear and panic took a grasp on her tiny heart. Her sobs became even stronger as she began to loose all hope.

"Stop bawling like a baby and get her out of the house!" Vanessa shouted without any mercy.

"She doesn't need to." chimed Chloe's voice from behind.

Max turned around and gasped. Chloe stood right in the doorframe, her cheeks were wet from tears and her hands clenched into fists. Her expression was a mixture of pain and anger.

"I'm leaving, just…just stop being so…so mean to Maxi. She doesn't deserve this. It's…" Chloe closed her eyes, fighting down the need to freak out and making things worse, like she'd done it at Thanksgiving. "It's been my fault. I talked her into this and…and…" She sighed, clearly not able to apologize for something she hadn't done wrong. "I'm gone, okay! Just leave her alone!"

"Chloe…" Max whispered and shook her head. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Chloe was taking all the blame to protect her; she literally sacrificed herself for her. For Max, it was the ultimate proof of Chloe's deep feelings for her.

"Well, that's something I learned to admire about you, Chloe. You know when to accept inevitable things." Vanessa said dryly.

This statement let Chloe bring forth a mixed sound of a scoff and a sob. "Just fuck off, Vanessa!" the blonde replied, turned around and went away.

"Chloe!" Max called out, stood up and wanted to follow her hurt girlfriend. She wanted to stop Chloe and talk to her, before she'd be leaving the house and therefore walking into her death.

The young girl hadn't even taken a step towards the door as her mother stopped her by taking the girl's shoulder into a tight grip. "Not so fast, Maxine! We still have a lot of talking to do!"

Then something happened. Something that Max only experienced in her Vision before. Her sadness and desperation turned into burning hate and anger. She grabbed the brunette woman's hand and tossed it from her shoulder, turned around and gazed at her with furious eyes.

"Don't touch me ever again!" she yelled. "Are you finally happy?"

Vanessa, clearly surprised by her daughter's unusual behavior, backed away. "M-Maxine…"

"Are you happy that you're ruining my life, huh? Does it make you feel good to crush my heart?"

"I just want to protect you." Vanessa defended herself.

"Protect me from what? Love? From the only person that makes me happy, and shows me how to enjoy life?"

"Your dad and I…"

"Yes, besides Chloe, dad is the only one who understands me. But you…" Tears build up in Max's eyes as she spoke out her next words. She knew that they'd hurt her mother, but in this situation she didn't care. She was just disappointed in Vanessa and the next step was a hard, but in her eyes, necessary one. "You always treated my like a puppy. Yes, you loved me, but you never accepted that I have a mind of my own. You always tried to control me; tried to turn me into a younger version of yourself. But that's not me and you never understood it. During Thanksgiving, I thought you'd changed as you finally accepted Chloe as my friend, but now I see that I was wrong. You'll never change and…" A sob escaped her mouth. "I don't see you as my mom anymore, because you just hurt Chloe and especially me so bad. No mother should do something like that!"

With watery eyes, Vanessa tried to touch her daughter, who, however, backed away. "Maxine…"

Max took another step back, increasing the physical and mental distance even more. "You never cared about my feelings and I hate you for what you've done! I love Chloe and there's nothing you can do to break us apart!"

"I-I'm so sorry…" Vanessa pleaded with a shaking voice.

"I don't care!" was Max's plain answer as she turned around, only to pause in her tracks for one last statement. "Just go to hell, Vanessa!"

This was the first time Max had called her mother by her first name. But it didn't bother her. Like in her Vision, there were no feelings left for her mom. Nevertheless, the young girl felt a sting in her heart as she left a desperately crying Vanessa behind. She walked up the stairs to her room in slow-motion. So many feelings were swirling around in her head, almost driving her insane. She still could hear the loud sobs of her mother, but somehow, none of this bothered her.

As she arrived at her room door, it got opened and in front of the young girl stood Chloe, backpack on her back, ready to leave. Max put her hand on her girlfriend's chest, shoved her back inside and closed the door.

"Max, I don't wanna stay here. I already got you in enough trouble and…Maxi?"

Max leaned against the door, her arms embracing her body and her gaze fixed at the floor. "I-I don't wanna ask you to stay, I…just wanna ask you, if you could wait for me until I've packed my stuff."

"What?!" Chloe gasped. "Max, are you sure that…"

The young girl raised her gaze and looked into her girlfriend's eyes with determination, telling her mentally that there was nothing to discus about. "Chloe, I don't wanna live with a person under one roof that tries to tell me who I should love and who not. Christmas is ruined anyway and I'd rather spend it with you than with my fucking bitch of a mother! Or are you the next one who wants to break my heart and dictate me around?"

It was a seldom event when Chloe Price lacked some words, but this was one of them. Instead of answering, she closed in, wrapped her arms around Max's neck and pressed her skinny body as close as possible.

"Never!" the blonde girl whispered. With a sob of joy, she broke the hug and gave Max a long kiss.

Max knew that leaving the house could get them both killed. But there was also a chance that her presence could change everything. She didn't know and, at this point, she didn't care. Her only wish was to be together with Chloe, in life or death.

* * *

One last look back, one shed tear. That's all Max could do after she and Chloe had left the house. Sneaking out wasn't that hard, since her dad wasn't home yet and Vanessa still busy crying.

Chloe's hand touched the brunette girl's shoulder softly. "Maxi?"

The smaller girl turned around, sniffed, wiped her nose with the back of her hand and exhaled deeply, her breath forming a white cloud in the cold winter air. "I'm fine. Let's go!"

"I'm sorry!" Chloe suddenly spoke, her gaze fixed on the way ahead of them.

"What for? You didn't screw up. It was my entire fault that Vanessa found this picture, and she was the one who freaked out in the first place." Max sighed, and stopped Chloe by grabbing the sleeve of her jacket. "Chloe, what happened today would've happened eventually. As soon as we're on the train to Portland, I'm gonna call my dad and talk things through. And we…we need to talk, too."

"About what?"

"Chloe, to tell you everything now would take too long. Just know this: I knew that this would happen and that, as long as we're in Seattle, we're in danger." Chloe was about to reply something, but was stopped immediately by Max's finger on her mouth. "I know, lots of questions, but we need to keep going in order to catch the last train to Portland. The bus station is right on the other side of the park. I think it's the fastest and safest way to walk through it."

"Lead the way, oh my mysterious Max!" Chloe answered with a shrug and a smile, reaching Max her hand, who took it and both girls entwined their fingers as they kept on walking.

Despite feeling Chloe's closeness the whole time, Max felt extremely tense. Her whole body was shaking, but not because of the coldness. The young girl scanned every inch of the way in front of her, fearing that something might happen to Chloe.

Somehow, the blonde must've sensed her girlfriend's unrest. But instead of talking to her, she just wrapped her arm around Max's shoulder and held her even closer.

"Good evening, ladies!" chimed a male voice from the shadow of a big tree, startling both girls.

Out of pure instinct, Chloe shoved Max behind her, as a skeevy person, dressed in dark clothes, emerged from the shadows, his face partially covered by a hood.

"Now where are two lovely girls like you two are going at this time of night on Christmas Eve? Shouldn't you two be at home, celebrating with you folks?" the unknown man said with a wide grin.

"That's none of your business, dude. Merry Christmas and good bye." Chloe answered him, grabbed Max's hand and tried to walk past, only to get stopped again as the man blocked their way once more.

"Whoa, missy! What is it with this attitude? I just wanna chat a bit, that's all."

"And we need to catch a bus, so if you'll excuse us now?"

With another try, the two girls tried to continue their way, but again, they were stopped.

The seedy man's grin turned an eerie forced smile. "Okay, you nice girls need to be on your way and that's fine, BUT since it's Christmas Eve, how about you do some Charity for a poor fella like me?"

"Charity? Wh-what do you mean?" the blonde girl asked, cautiously taking a step back.

"Oh, that's simple. You just give me all your valuables and then we'll all be on our ways again."

' _Oh no! The robbery…that's…this can't be! I changed everything by being here. Why is this happening anyway?_ ' Max thought in shock. She could feel through Chloe's shaking hand that she was at least as scared as her girlfriend.

But Chloe tried to stay strong; tried to be the strong protector for Max she'd always been for all those years they've known each other. Therefore, she tried to mask her fear with boldness. "And where's the Charity for us in your fucked-up plan, asshole?" she scoffed and took another step back.

This time, the skeevy guy snickered evilly, reached inside the pocket of his black jacket and brought forth a switchblade, which unfolded with a loud click. "How about I'll let you two bitches live to see another day? Charity enough for you? And don't even think of running away! Now empty your fucking pockets and packs!" he hissed.

Max gasped and tightened her hold on Chloe's hand, afraid that everything she foresaw might become true.

"Okay, we got it. Listen, I've got 150 bucks in my wallet. Take it and just leave us alone, 'kay?" Chloe tried to negotiate, her voice dripping with nervousness.

But the robber didn't seem to be impressed. "Nice to know, but were not on a fucking bazar here. Now put all your stuff on the ground or I'll cut you open and take what I want!"

"Chloe…" Max whimpered out of fear, making the older girl look at her. "L-let us do wh-what he wants…I'm so scared…" she said and added in her thoughts. ' _About you!_ '

Chloe gazed at Max for some moments and then nodded. Max saw how she had to fight with her need to freak out and the acceptance of her defeat. Nevertheless, she took off her backpack and began to empty everything. Max followed stat.

Everything of value landed on one pile; wallets, phones, Max's iPod and Laptop, Chloe's MP3-Player and Max's digital-cam. On another pile were their clothes and other stuff that wasn't of any value. It hurt Max to lose her new Laptop and camera, but Chloe's life was priceless, and therefor worth the sacrifice.

The guy crouched in front of the goods and let out a whistle. "Looks like its Christmas for me after all. Never thought that I'd hit the jackpot today." he said with a greedy grin, took Max's empty backpack and began to put the valuables in it. "Wait! What's that?" the mugger complained and held up Chloe's blue, decorated phone.

"How about a phone, dipshit?" Chloe shot back, arms crossed and clearly pissed-off.

"You really have some attitude problems, girl!" he chuckled, ignoring the insult. "But this shit is worthless." With these words he threw the custom-styled phone against the next tree.

"HEY!" Chloe yelled and made a step towards the armed man. Only Max's fast grip on her jacket held her back.

The guy stood up, his knife up and ready. "Uh-uh-uh! Don't do this again, bitch. I may be amused by your attitude, but if you come any closer I'll kill you!" He shifted his gaze to Max and grinned again. "At least your little friend seems to have some brain, but…wait!" The grin vanished as he pointed with the tip of his knife at Max's camera-bag. "What is this? Haven't I told you to empty everything?" he yelled in anger. "Gimme the fucking bag, bitch!"

This time, Chloe stepped between the mugger and her girlfriend, her hands raised to calm down the situation. "Listen, dude, this is just her cam bag, there's nothing of value…"

Before both girls knew what was happening, the skeevy guy had grabbed Chloe by her collar and pressed her against the big tree with full force, making the young girl groan in pain.

His face was right in front of hers, and the shining blade of the knife at her throat. "Do I look like I give a fuck about your opinion, HUH?"

Completely stunned, Max watched the whole situation with horror. She saw the fear in Chloe's blue eyes; how a tear rolled down her cheek and her lips were trembling. Max knew that her beloved Chloe's life was in grave danger; that she needed to do something.

' _Be a hero for once, Max! You can safe her!_ '

The small girl clenched her hands into fists and gathered every bit of courage by remembering all those feelings from her dream. She scanned the situation and realized that the skeevy man wasn't paying her any attention. Reminding her learned self-protection skills, Max darted forward, grabbed the man's hand with the knife, pulled it away from Chloe's throat and tried to rip it from the robber's grasp.

She doesn't know how it happened; if it was her fear, the lack of experience or the possibility that her opponent had some experience himself; but somehow the armed hand slipped away. She tried to grab it again as she suddenly felt a hot, stinging pain in her chest that made her gasp.

The young girls blue doe-eyes met with the man's brown wide open ones. She stumbled a few steps back, holding the spot where the strong pain pulsed through her entire body.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT?" the man shouted in her face, but Max didn't care. She shifted her gaze to Chloe; her beloved Chloe; who still stood at the tree, staring at her.

"Max…" Chloe whispered with a shivering voice.

Max tried to answer her, but wasn't able to form words. Instead she attempted to give her a smile, but failed again. From one moment to another, the world turned upside down.

The next time she was able to focus her sight again, her gaze was fixed on the night sky. She looked at the wandering clouds; at the stars that could be seen in the gaps between them. She saw how little, glittering snowflakes; the first snowflakes of this winter; sailed through the air and she wished to have a camera right now to capture this peaceful moment of silence, which was broken by Chloe's eerie scream.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Max didn't know what was going on, but she heard how the man groaned and cried, accompanied by a barrage of thuds. "Argh! Get off of me, you crazy bitch!"

Then there was silence again and fear put its claws around Max's tiny heart again, until it was replaced by relief as Chloe's face appeared in her view. Tears run from her eyes and her breathing is near to hyperventilation. Max could see the panic and shock in her watery eyes. "Max! Oh shitshitshit! Okay, chill…I got this! First Aid! I-I need to remember my first aid class. That's all. No panic! Okay! I-I need to put something under your head and keep you warm."

The blonde took off her thick jacket and laid it onto Max's legs. Then she went out of the injured girl's view, just to come back a few moments later with a bunch of their clothes. She took one of her sweaters and put it under Max's head as a cushion.

"Okay, next I need to treat your wound. Sorry, Maxi, but I have to open your jacket."

While Chloe opened Max's jacket, the brunette noticed a red stain on her girlfriend's right arm. "Ch-Chloe…your arm…" she managed to say with a weak voice.

"That's just a scratch. Nothing to worry 'bout." Chloe replied, still focused on her task. "Take your hand off the wound, Max!"

Just now as Chloe touched her hand, Max felt how cold her own really was.

"Shit!" the blonde hissed, shifting Max's attention back to her. "Okay, Maximus, I have to put some pressure on it…this might hurt, got it?"

Max answered her with a slight nod, but as soon as Chloe put some pressure on the wound, she groaned in pain as it throbbed through her entire body.

"It's okay…you…you did it! You did it! Sssh!" Seeing Max in such pain let some tears flowing down her cheeks, which she wiped away with the back of her hand. "Okay Maxi, I-I need to call some help. Here…" she took Max's small hand and put it onto a ball of warm and wet fabric. "Put some pressure on it, 'kay?"

Feeling Chloe's warmth again, let Max realize how the coldness crawled through her limbs and was about to take over her entire body. "Ch-Chloe…I'm s-so cold."

"I-I know, just…just wait a sec!"

For a short moment, Chloe vanished from Max's sight. A slight drowsiness engulfed her mind and, although she knew she shouldn't close her eyes, Max wanted to do it, only Chloe's yelling prevented her from doing so.

"FUCK!" Chloe screamed and came back into her girlfriend's gaze. This time she looked even more worried then before. "Okay, listen Maxi…this asshole wrecked my phone and took yours. I…" Her face grimaced for a moment, before she inhaled deeply to hold her composure. "I need to get some help, okay? Just…just hold on, Maxi…I'll be right back!"

As the blonde was about to stand up, Max managed to take a weak hold of her hand, making her stay in place. "Chlo, p-please don't leave me. I-I don't wanna be alone."

A sob of desperation escaped the blonde girl's mouth. "I won't leave you, Maxi!" she whispered, holding Max's hand tightly.

The coldness had now taken over her entire body. She had no feeling in her limbs. Breathing became hard and shallow with every passing second. The pain in her chest was almost gone. Another wave of drowsiness engulfed her. "Chloe…"

"I-I'm here, Maximus." whispered Chloe with a shivering voice, her face now entirely wet from tears.

"I'm so tired, Chlo. I-I wanna sleep."

"Nonononono! Don't fall asleep, sleepyhead! Stay with me, okay?" she said panicky, shaking Max's body softly.

Max wanted to listen to her girlfriend; wanted to stay awake; but eventually exhaustion, coldness and drowsiness took over merciless and were closing her eyes with full force.

"Max? Stay with me! C'mon, wake up! Max? Max!"

Max heard the whisper of the wind and it faded. She felt Chloe's warmth and it faded. The light of a streetlamp shone weakly through her eyelids and it faded into darkness. She heard Chloe's desperate voice and, eventually, it faded, too. Everything that remained was silence and darkness, until it was replaced by a bright, white light.


	15. Chapter 15: Scars, part 1

**Author's Notes:**

 **As you might have noticed, I changed the title of the story, because I decided to turn this whole project into a multi-story-series. The reason is, I need a short creative break from this story, but also don't want to leave it completely unfinished without any closure. The whole series will probably consist of 4 stories total (that's my plan, at least).**

 **There will only be one more chapter left for this story. (16 chapters total)**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Scars, part 1**

Salty air filled her nose. A warm breeze played with her lose hair streaks and brushed over her face. The sun in the perfect blue sky warmed her body and made her blink a few times to get used to the brightness.

Max finally managed to open her eyes and began to scan her surroundings.

' _Wh-what happened? This…this isn't Seattle. I-I know this place! This is…_ '

"The Arcadia Bay lighthouse." A very familiar female voice finished her thought.

As Max tried to find the source of the voice, her gaze fixed on the bench right beside the tall building. On it sat a person with chin-long brown hair, looking at the town and the ocean. The young girl took a few cautious steps towards the bench.

"I'd never thought, I'd miss this shithole of a town." the unknown person suddenly spoke with a scoff. "Y'know, Max, this fucking town took the most precious person of my life away from me, but…I can't escape it. It's like a curse. A fucking curse that haunts you forever!"

Taken aback by the now more agitated tone, the small girl stepped back a bit. "It isn't that bad, y'know."

Another scoff chimed from the brunette on the bench. "Yeah, easy to say if you never had to make the choice between Chloe and everyone else in this fucked up town. I never should've listened to her! I should've saved her instead of this…this pile of asshole!"

Max stopped in her movements, now completely stunned. "H-how do you know my and Chloe's name?"

"Still haven't figured it out, huh? Well, no wonder. We never saw the obvious, even if it was literally kissing us."

"Who are you?" Max asked, her hands tugging on her shirt in nervousness.

The strange person turned around and Max gasped in surprise as she suddenly looked at an older version of herself.

' _Th-this can't be! She's way older than me, but it's…ME! How is this possible? Am I…_ '

"Dead?" the older Max huffed and rolled with her eyes. "Welcome to the other side, Maxine! Your punishment for stupidity will be to talk with yourself for all eternity!" she spoke with an exaggerated spooky voice, waving around with her hands mysteriously.

"Okay, now I know that you're just shitting me." the younger Max responded with crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows.

"Really? You're a smart one, aren't ya?"

Anger started to boil inside of Max and took over. She jumped forward, grabbed her older version by the collar of her grey hoodie and yelled into her face. "Listen, bitch, I just ran away from home again, because my mom sucks. I got mugged and stabbed by some motherfucker. And now I'm stuck here and I don't even know why, or how to get back to my Chloe. So, will you just stop behaving like an asshole and tell me what the fuck is going on here?"

Instead of being intimidated by the young girl's rage, older Max just gave her a wry smile and stayed calm. "Wow! You're way different than the others."

"What others?" she kept on yelling.

"The other Yous…uh…Us'…uhm…the other Maxines."

The young girl let lose of the other brunette's collar and took a few steps back, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. "Wh-what?!"

Her surroundings began to flicker. The scent of nature and the ocean vanished and was replaced by an unpleasant smell. She felt dizzy, almost unable to hold her balance.

"Shit!" the older Max hissed.

Panic flooded the young girl's mind as she looked around in fear. "Wh-what is happening?"

The brunette woman stood up, ran towards Max, grabbed her by her shoulders and gazed deep into her blue doe-eyes. The mockery attitude she'd shown before had vanished completely. "Listen closely, Max! I don't have much time left to explain everything, but know this: This reality shouldn't exist; YOU shouldn't exist. One of us fucked up and I'm sorry to say this, but you have to let go of Chloe! She's a trigger and you need to accept her fate!"

"What?! I-I don't understand. What reality? Why…"

Everything around the two Maxines crumbled into nothingness. The older Max began to blur. "Damn! I don't know if I'll be able to contact you again. Let her go, Max! I don't know what will happen if... she…"

The other Max vanished, as the rest of Arcadia Bay already did. Only young Max stayed behind and, once more, darkness and silence accompanied her.

* * *

A small source of light and sound appeared in front of her. She tried to grab it, but it seeped through her fingers like water and moved away. She mustered her strength and followed the light. The closer she got the brighter it became and the more different sounds she could hear.

Again, the source moved away, but with a great effort Max was finally able to get a hold of it. She got blinded by the light and closed her eyes. She could hear voices and other sounds. They became louder and faded, like the rhythmic sound of waves. Then she felt pain throughout her body, coldness and warmth. The strength that she'd originally used to follow the light was completely gone. It felt like she wasn't in control of her body anymore, but as time went by, the feeling and ability to move returned step by step, until she was finally able to open her eyes.

* * *

Slowly, Max became more and more conscious. As her senses began their work again, she was able to become aware of her surroundings.

She smelled this unpleasant scent from her dream again. She felt that she was lying in a warm and comfy bed. She had a bad taste in her dry mouth and felt the need to drink something. She saw that it wasn't night anymore, or that the place where she was, was enlightened. She heard that someone else was close by.

Max tried to open her eyes, but the brightness let her close them shut again. She wanted to move, but felt too weak and exhausted to even budge a limb. Her body screamed at her to get back to sleep and get more rest, but a sudden thought about Chloe gave her some strength to fight against it.

The young girl groaned and began to squirm a bit. "Ch-Chloe…" she said with a weak voice.

"Ah, Miss Caulfield, you're finally awake!" an unknown female voice responded.

Hearing a strange voice sent a jolt of panic through Max's body. Her struggling against her weakness and exhaustion intensified, leading to some intense pain, which made her groan even more.

"Sssh, take it easy, Miss Caulfield! You're safe here." the unfamiliar person soothed and softly pressed the young girl back onto the mattress.

The struggling abated and her breathing normalized. Slowly, Max managed to open her eyes and gazed into the friendly smiling face of a young nurse with straw-blonde hair.

"That's it, Maxine. Do you mind, if I call you Maxine?"

"M-Max." the girl spoke with a hoarse voice. "J-just Max…never Maxine."

The warm smile of the young woman grew even wider. "Alright. Hi Max, I'm nurse Stephanie."

"Hi Stephanie." Max said with a weak smile, moved her head a bit and tried to scan her surroundings, but it was hard for her to focus her sight, making everything a bit blurry. "Wh-where am I?"

"You're at the hospital. You were in pretty bad shape as they brought you here. Our doctors had to…"

"Where's Chloe?" she interrupted the nurse, who just gave Max an even wider smile, turned around, opened the room door and spoke with someone outside.

"She's awake now."

Something outside hit the ground and fast steps could be heard. The nurse stepped aside and Chloe appeared.

Blue doe-eyes locked sight with deep-blue almond-shaped ones. An intense feeling of joy, relief and love rushed through Max's body, made her smile and let her eyes well up. "Chloe!" she whispered.

But Chloe didn't respond. She kept standing in the doorframe. First tears rolled down her cheeks and her lips were trembling. A sob emerged from her mouth. Then another one followed. With slow steps she walked over to her girlfriend's hospital bed, and as she'd finally reached her, she nearly collapsed on it. Chloe cried out every feeling, positive and negative, that had been built up since the incident in the park.

If Max would've been able to, she would've joined in, but she was too exhausted for an intense crying. Instead she managed to raise her hand and brush through Chloe's hair. Nurse Stephanie did the same with the crying girl's back.

"I thought I'd lost you." Chloe managed to whisper between her sniffs, after she'd calmed down enough to speak.

Max looked at Chloe for some time and saw the still present hurt in her eyes; the fear of losing her most beloved and important person in her life; the fear of being alone again; and it filled the young girl's mind with guilt. "Chloe, I-I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have tried to be a hero. I should've…"

Chloe's sudden touch of her cheek and the intense glare she gave her, silenced Max instantly. "You are a hero, Max! My hero! You saved my life! This guy was about to hurt me and you…you just stepped in. I don't care, if someone says that it was stupid or reckless, 'cause they're just wrong!"

"She's right, y'know." Nurse Stephanie threw in and handed Max a cup with water.

"Thanks!" said Max and took a deep sip, eagerly, while she thought about Chloe's words. And just now she remembered this strange dream she had before; how the other Max had told her to let go of Chloe; and as she gazed at her most precious Chloe once more, she decided that – Vision or not – the other Max could go to hell! Then another thought went through the brunette's mind. "How did I get here? I-I mean, last thing I remember, you told me that your phone's been busted and you wanted to get some help."

Recalling this night, darkened Chloe's face some more. "Some jogger came by, right after you passed out. He called 9-1-1 and treated your wound way better than I did. If it weren't for him, you…you would've…" Chloe's face grimaced as she began to sob.

For Max it was pretty obvious that this night left some scars on her girlfriend's mind.

' _Hell, I don't even wanna know about the scars it left on me!_ '

She took a hold of her hand, making Chloe to look at her. "But I'm not, Chlo! I'm still here! Or do you think I'd miss the opportunity to go on your nerves with my geekiness?"

Max's lips formed a weak smile, while Chloe made a sound that was a mixture of a scoff and a sob. "You're such a dork!"

"Your dork!"

Once again, both girl's got lost into their eyes, forgetting everything around them. Chloe closed in and placed a soft kiss on Max's lips. A kiss that soothed and told them that they were still alive and together.

"Oooookay!" Nurse Stephanie suddenly spoke, which almost startled the two lovers as they remembered that they weren't alone. Both of their faces blushed instantly as they looked at the nurse, who stared at them, one hand resting on her hip. "Listen girls, it's none of my business, but…wow…never saw that comin'. But you should keep the cuddling to a minimum here, 'cause this is still a hospital, not a hotel, 'kay?" Chloe and Max shyly nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna get the doctor now for a checkup. So, don't elope, you two lovebirds!" she spoke with a wink and left.

The two girls shared another gaze, before they both started to giggle. "We really need to pay more attention, before we get mushy." Chloe mentioned.

"Yeah…" Max added, her head still beet-red.

* * *

Half an hour later the doctor arrived in Max's room. Most of the time, Max and Chloe had spent in silence, just enjoying to be together again and not in the mood to talk about the recent events, although Max almost went crazy out of curiosity.

"Hello, Miss Caulfield, I'm Dr. Sanchez." the Hispanic-looking man in the white coat said with a smile, walked to the foot-end of the bed and took a clipboard out of the installed holder. "How are you feeling?"

Just now as she's been asked about her condition, Max realized how bad she really felt. "Like sh…" She paused, closed her eyes for a moment and tried to describe it with more than just one word. "Weak, very weak. Like run over by a train. My whole body hurts and…breathing's very hard and hurts."

The doctor nodded and scribbled some notes on the clipboard. "Mh-hm. Understandable. You have some pretty rough days behind you."

"How rough?" Max suddenly threw in. She didn't know why, but somehow she wanted to know what had happened to her during the time she'd been unconscious.

Silence filled the room for a minute as Dr. Sanchez gazed at her for some time, like he was weighing what to tell her and what not. "Miss Caulfield, I don't think…"

"You were dead, Maxi." Chloe suddenly interrupted the doctor, staring into empty space as she squeezed Max's hand out of fear to lose her. Her voice trembled and first wet lines got drawn on her face. "You were dead for one minute. The longest fucking minute of my entire fucking life!"

"You were there?" Max gasped in a low tone. Hers and Chloe's gaze met again, blue eyes locked for some moments. The brunette saw the hurt in her girlfriend's eyes. Another deep mental wound that'd probably become a scar.

"It happened during the ride to the hospital." the doctor broke the heavy silence. "Luckily, the medics were able to reanimate you in time. After 8 hours of emergency surgery we were finally able to stabilize your condition." He exhaled. "It was a really close call, Miss Caulfield. If it weren't for the brave actions of your friend and a fellow citizen, you wouldn't have made it."

' _I was dead! Close call! 8 hours of surgery! Chloe's brave actions!_ '

These thoughts whirled around in Max's head in an infinite loop. She didn't know what to say. The fact that she almost died hit her, like a truck on the Interstate, with full force.

"Max?" Chloe's voice and the soft touch on her cheek brought the young girl back to reality. She stared at her girlfriend for some time, until she came to a final conclusion.

' _She saved my life! Chloe's the hero, not me!_ '

"Thank you!" she finally managed to say, her voice a mere whisper.

"No need to, Maxi." Chloe gave back with a warm smile, entwining her fingers with Max's. "I'd give my life for you!"

A sob chimed through the room. The two girl's and the doctor shifted their attention to the nurse, who was just wiping with the back of her hand over her nose and her cheek. "S-sorry. It's just…" She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Ugh, this damn cold weather!"

Doctor Sanchez shook his had as he fixed his gaze on the clipboard again. "Alright, let's take a look at your wound. Miss Burton…" he addressed the blonde nurse. "Please, see Miss Price out."

She didn't know what it was; the imminent separation from Chloe or that she's about to be alone with a stranger; but somehow Max felt very uncomfortable and panicky. "I-it's okay, Ch-Chloe can stay. I-I don't mind." she stuttered, gazing at her girlfriend with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Caulfield, hospital policy. But…"

"SHE STAYS OR I'LL FREAK!" Max screamed out in panic, making everyone startle and stare at her. Her whole body was trembling and hurting. Her heart, mind and breathing raced. Unable to process why she'd just made such a big thing out of it, Max covered her face and began to cry. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Chloe reacted without any hesitation and took the freckled girl into a tight, soothing hug.

Doctor Sanchez gave the nurse a nod and she closed the door. "Okay, Miss Caulfield, she can stay, but to perform the checkup I sadly need Miss Price to stand aside."

Chloe broke the hug, gazed into Max's eyes deeply while brushing some tears from her cheeks. "Don't worry, Maxi! I'll be right over there and keep watch, okay?"

"Okay." Max replied with some sniffs, calmed down enough by the knowledge of Chloe's presence.

Nurse Stephanie touched the blonde girl softly by her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "C'mon, Chloe. I need to change your bandage anyway."

Chloe walked over to a chair on the wall of the room and took off her t-shirt. Just now Max realized the bandage on her right arm. The brunette girl gasped as the nurse cut off the white gauze, revealing a long, sewed cut.

Seeing the shock in Max's face, Chloe gave her a wry smile. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it…fuck!" She hissed the last word with gritted teeth as Stephanie cleaned the wound. "Okay…" she groaned. "…it hurts like hell!"

Somehow, Chloe's behavior painted a slight smile on Max's face as she's reminded how Chloe always acted like a strong and hard person, but in truth she was sensitive and caring. A lovable pile of mush in a thick armor, and Max was the only one who had always been able to take it off her.

Meanwhile, the doctor had put on some rubber gloves and was about to take off Max's gown. Once more, this feeling of discomfort and panic creeped through her body and was about to drive her bonkers. "N-no…please…" she stammered, pushing the gloved hands away.

"Miss Caulfield, in order to check your wound I have to see it."

"I-I know, but…d-don't touch me, please…I-I…"

"Alright, no problem. The nurse could…"

"No…n-not the nurse…" Max glimpsed at Chloe. She felt the need for her warmth; the safety she represented. The brunette girl realized that Chloe was the only person she trusted; the only one she wanted to be touched by. "Ch-Chloe, c-can you help?"

The blonde girl blushed, her eyes wide at first, but with a deep breath she became sternly and nodded, ready to help out her Max again, if it weren't for the doctor.

"Miss Caulfield, I don't want to make Miss Price bad, but she has no medical experience and…"

Max was about to tell him that it was either her or nobody, but then nurse Stephanie stepped in and whispered something into Dr. Sanchez's ear, what he responded with a nod. She turned to Max with the sweetest smile on her face. "Max, is it okay, if I assist Chloe? She would still do the main work and I'll only jump in if necessary. Just very few touching from my side, promised!"

She knew that it was impossible to avoid any touches by strangers at all, especially when they needed to treat her injury. Therefore, Max agreed with the offer.

After her wound had been taken care of, Chloe stood beside Max's bed. The blonde's face was still red and her hands clammy. "Ready?" she asked the younger girl, who gave her a short nod.

Under the instruction of nurse Stephanie and the doctor, Chloe, first took off the gown and then the bandage.

The first of Chloe's slight touches on her bare body felt strange, yet not unpleasant. Max got used to them very quickly until she almost enjoyed them. They comforted her; made her feel alive; told her that her heart was still beating.

Sadly, this all came to an end as Chloe had to step aside to make way for the doctor, so that he could examine the wound.

Seeing her injury for the first time – especially were it was located – Max gasped loudly, while Chloe's face darkened.

"The blade missed your heart by merely an inch. As I said before, Miss Caulfield, you were very lucky and you still are!" He took off his gloves and gave Max an reassuring smile. "Your wound is healing very good and you will fully recover."

Hearing this didn't sooth Max at all. Maybe she will recover physically, but she felt that something inside of her had been damaged permanently. And as they cleaned and bandaged her again, she only felt pain and not the comfort by Chloe's touches anymore. Depressing thoughts of loss, and the reason behind all this suffering darkened her mood even more.

Nonetheless, Max took hold of Chloe's hand and entwined their fingers. "Thank you, Chlo!" she spoke with a smile, which the blonde responded with a wry smirk as she lowered her head to whisper in the brunette's ear. "No thing, Maxi! Always wanted to play doctor with you!"

This pun made Max's face turn red in an instant, but also cheered her up a bit. Every time she was reminded that - despite the own sacrifice she had to make - her Vision didn't come true, she wanted to jump up and down and celebrate her victory over fate.

A knock on the door caught everyone's attention. It got opened and the Caulfield's and Joyce Price entered the room cautiously, not knowing if the doctor had already finished the checkup.

"Dad! Joyce!" Max cheered with a smile, purposely ignoring her mother.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield! Right on time!" said the doctor with a smile.

Ryan gave Chloe a short a hug and a reassuring smile, then moved on to his daughter, embracing her tightly. "Heyyy, kiddo! We were so worried about you!"

They parted and the young girl gave her father a weak smile. "I-I'm okay, dad." she told him with a trembling voice, while some tears rolled down her cheeks.

Joyce was next, who gave first her daughter and then Max a hug, shedding some droplets herself. "Oh my poor sweetheart!"

Vanessa stayed in the background, not saying one word. Max saw that it hurt her to see her little daughter like this; that it hurt her to be ignored; but Max wasn't ready to forgive her, not right away.

"How's she doing, Dr. Sanchez?" Ryan asked with some concern.

"She's doing great. So far, her wound is healing properly and there are no signs of any infection. We can move her from post-op to her room now. However…" The Hispanic man's face became serious. "I'd suggest that she should talk with our specialist for trauma therapy."

Although, Ryan knew that his daughter never liked going to a psychiatrist, he agreed, knowing that such an incident could cause a trauma, especially on a 13 years old girl.

"Dad, I-I wanna talk to mom. Alone!" Max suddenly spoke after the nurse and the doctor had taken their leave.

Ryan, Chloe and Joyce exchanged some gazes and then nodded. "Alright, Max." he answered and left with the Price's. Only Max and Vanessa remained, not looking at each other. An eerie silence filled the room, until Vanessa spoke, her voice brittle and about to break.

"I'm so sorry, Maxine!"

Again, there was only silence for some time, waiting to be broken once more.

"I'm sorry, too, mom!" Max replied, now gazing at her mother. "I said some things that…that were exaggerated and hurtful. You're still my mom, but…" She looked at the ceiling again, new wet lines forming on her face. "You hurt me and Chloe. You said things that I can't forgive you." Max shifted her view to her now sobbing mom once more. But this time it gave her heart a big sting to see Vanessa like this. "You're not responsible for what happened. I don't blame you for that. Never will, and neither should anyone else! But…things between us will never be the same again."

"Maxine…I love you."

Max didn't reply. She just turned her head away, trying to suppress the feelings that were about to take over. Feelings that almost made her forgive her mom in an instant. But somehow she didn't want to. Not now. Not today.

"I…I need some rest now. Please…just leave me alone."

A sob emerged from the freckled girl as the door was closed. She felt bad. Max knew that she'd just dropped a bomb on her mom. And it hurt her, because despite the things Vanessa had said in the kitchen, she still loved her. But her mom needed to learn that her daughter could make her own decisions, eventually.

"I love you, too, mom!" the brunette spoke into the room and cried even more, until the exhaustion took its toll and she slept in.

* * *

' _She knew that it would come to this. But how? She wanted us to leave Seattle, because we were in danger. Was this the threat she meant?_ _She wanted to tell me something as soon as we would've been on the train. And even earlier that day, she tried to talk with me about something serious._ '

Since the day of the incident, these thoughts were a constant, repeating stream in Chloe's mind. The strawberry-blonde girl's head rested in her mother's shoulder. For the last days, her mom's soothing presence has been everything that kept her going.

' _This is my entire fault. Instead of running away, I should've stood my ground. I'm such fuck-up!_ '

A tear formed in the corner of her eye and rolled down her face as a new wave of self-doubts flooded her mind. She sniffed and dug her head even more into her mom's shoulder, who brushed through her daughter's hair.

"It's not your fault, Chloe! Sometimes bad things happen without our doings." Joyce soothed.

"But I should've stayed. Instead, I choose the easy way and wanted to run away from my problems." Chloe responded. More droplets were flowing down her face.

Joyce lifted Chloe's head up and gazed into her eyes deeply. "Sweetie, you're just 14! Nobody should ever expect from you to deal with such a difficult situation like a grown-up. Dammit, most grown-ups wouldn't have been able to deal with such a bullcrap!"

"But I almost got her killed, mom!"

A warm smile formed on her mom's face as she brushed her daughter's tears away. "That's strange, baby-girl, 'cause last time I checked, you did a darn good job of saving her life."

The door got opened and a completely devastated Vanessa left Max's room. She buried her face in her hands and cried intensely. Ryan instantly wrapped his arms around his wife and rocked her softly.

"My own daughter hates me!" the brunette woman whimpered out.

Chloe watched this whole scene; watched how the woman that wanted to separate her and Max, broke, and felt pity for her. Despite for Max, Chloe never felt pity for anyone else before.

Joyce tried to hold her daughter back, as she stood up and wanted to walk over to the Caulfield's, but the blonde freed herself from her grasp.

She stood in front of Max's parents, gazing at Vanessa intensively. Ryan broke the hug and almost begged Chloe with his glare not to freak out right now. Finally, Max's mom raised her sight and looked at her daughter's girlfriend.

"Chloe…" she sobbed, almost expecting to get another punch in the guts, but to her and everyone else's surprise, Chloe bridged the gap between them and embraced her into a tight hug.

"Maxi doesn't hate you! She still loves you, just give her some time to heal out those wounds. She'll come around eventually."

"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry for what I've said! Please, forgive me!" the brunette woman kept on crying.

For a minute, Chloe stayed silent, overthinking if she should forgive Vanessa this fast. She'd said very hurtful things; called her a slut; wanted to break up her relationship with Max. Reminding this, Chloe made a choice. "Not today, Vanessa. Not today."

Her pleading for forgiveness rejected again, let the brunette woman sob some more.

"You should be happy that Chloe's even considering to forgive you, Vanessa, 'cause the hell I will!" Joyce's voice chimed from behind.

Chloe broke the hug and faced her mother, who stood there, arms crossed and her eyes radiating anger. "Mom…" Chloe tried to calm her down, but was ignored by Joyce as she continued her rage.

"You endangered the lives of our daughters. Dammit, Max is lucky to be alive and Chloe…just look at her arm!" Joyce continued her barrage of chiding words on Vanessa, her tone getting louder.

The brunette woman's crying intensified and her legs failed to hold her. Ryan wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulder and tried to give her some hold. "Joyce, stop it! She knows that she made a mistake!" He intervened, but only received an agitated glare.

"A mistake?!" the blonde woman yelled.

Never seen her mother that angry before, Chloe lacked words to calm her down. "Mom, p-please…" she spoke, her voice nothing more than shivering whisper, and, once more, ignored by her mom.

"She's a mother, for Christ's sake!" Joyce kept on raging. "What mother throws a 14 year old girl out of the house at night?! Let alone that she not even had the guts to do it by herself. You're a gutless bitch, Vanessa, and it makes me sick that you're pleading my daughter for forgiveness!"

"Joyce, that's enough!" now Ryan shot back, holding his wife, whose sobbing had now changed into a constant whimper, even closer.

A Security Guard came down the hallway in a fast pace, heading their way. "What is wrong with you people?" he hissed. "This is a hospital, for fucks sake, and not _Oprah_. You're disturbing the peace! Now get the fuck out of here, all of you, and continue your family-drama elsewhere!"

"We're sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Ryan said calmly and lifted up his wife. "We're leaving."

While Max's parents and Joyce left without another word, Chloe stayed behind, still completely stunned by the rage her mother unloaded on Vanessa.

' _I've never seen mom like this. What she did…it was just cruel how she dropped bomb after bomb on Vanessa, even though she was already done._ '

"Miss?" the Security Guard said and brought her back into the real world. "I need you to leave, too."

"Wh-what?! B-but I didn't do shit, I…" the blonde stammered panicky, not wanting to leave Max behind.

"I don't care. Leave or you'll be removed from the hospital."

Anger build up inside her, making her head turn red. "Fine! Fuck you, asswipe!" she hissed, flipping him off. But the Guard seemed to be unimpressed.

"Cute. Now fuck off!"

* * *

Still pretty angry, Chloe left the hospital, only to see that her mom and Max's patents were arguing again.

"…you just don't know when to stop, do you?" Ryan yelled at Joyce.

"At least I didn't throw out Max when I learned that she and Chloe were together." the blonde countered.

Hearing them fight again, Chloe couldn't control her anger anymore. She threw her backpack on the ground, stomped between the two parties and started to yell. "Will ya just stop behaving like fucking children, huh?"

"Chloe Elizabeth…" Joyce began, but was shut down immediately.

"Stop using my stupid middle name and just shut it!" She now glanced at her mom, her look full of rage. "Thanks for getting us thrown out, mom! Now Max is all alone in there and I…" Her eyes were welling up as she continued her chiding words. "Why didn't you just leave Vanessa alone, huh? She's done, for fuck's sake! She knows that she fucked up. And she knows very well that she has to earn my and Max's forgiveness."

"Chloe…I'm sorry!" her mom finally said in a low voice, now gazing at her feet in shame. And from one moment to another, Chloe's anger dissipated and was replaced by sadness. The young girl wrapped her arms around herself and sniffed. She wanted to be at Max's side; wanted to hold her hand; wanted to feel her. She had to hold back for days, and now she's been robbed of this chance again. It almost made her despair and she would've cried out her pain on the spot, if she hadn't been distracted by Ryan's voice.

"Mr. Madsen! Here to visit our daughter?" Max's dad spoke to a tall man with short, black hair and a moustache, holding a bunch of flowers in his hand.

"That's right, Mr. Caulfield. Wanted to check on our brave, little soldier."

Mr. Madsen shook everyone's hand with a smile, but as it was Chloe's turn, she hesitated.

' _Actually, I don't like this kind of person. Wannabe hard-ass ex-military guy, who even calls kids soldier, thinking that it sounds kinda cool. But…he saved Max. So, I guess I have to be at least grateful and should try to like him. Ugh!_ '

"Hi Mr. Madsen!" the blonde girl said with a forced, weak smile and shook his hand.

"Hello Chloe! You can call me David, by the way. How's your arm?"

"Still hurts like shit, but I won't lose it."

"Chloe, language!" Joyce chided her daughter, who, however, just rolled with her eyes.

"I'm gonna be fine." she sighed in annoyance.

"That's good to hear! And how's your friend?"

"She…uhm…she's getting better, but still needs a lot of rest, so…" Chloe answered, not wanting that a stranger visits her alone.

' _Poor Maxi already freaked out as the doctor wanted to do a checkup. Sorry dude, maybe you saved her live, but I still don't trust you enough to leave her alone with you._ '

"I understand…"

"Give her a few days and she's gonna be better." Ryan told him with a reassuring smile.

"That's good, but I'm heading south today, so there won't be any chance to visit her. I'm just going to bring these flowers to the reception and then be on my way again." David Madsen said and walked into the hospital.

"And I think, we're gonna head south, too. C'mon, Chloe." Joyce was already about to leave, but Chloe hadn't even moved a limb, which made her turn around. "Chloe?"

Still embracing her body, Chloe gazed to the ground and spoke with a brittle voice. "I-I'm gonna stay. I…I don't wanna leave her alone."

"Chloe…" her mom sighed, touching her arm softly. "We don't have the money to pay you a hotel."

"It's alright, she can with us." Ryan threw in, but instead of calming down Chloe's mother, it made her angry again.

"The hell she will!" the blonde woman snapped back and a new argument began.

Chloe's hands and jaw clenched, while tears dropped down from her tight shut eyes as she heard her mother's repeated rage. She was about to blow; ready to punch her own mother in the face to finally shut her up. Only her bangs hid her anger grimaced face. It took the strawberry-blonde girl every bit of strength to reroute her anger into a loud scream.

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

She finally raised her gaze and looked into her mom's eyes deeply. Her face was wet from tears and her breathing was heavy. Her whole body shook from the pure fury that was boiling inside of her. "I'm…gonna stay here, like it or not. 'Cause nobody is gonna separate me and Max ever again! Not you, not Vanessa, not even death!"

"Chloe…it's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"I…" Taking a deep breath, Joyce kept on speaking with a quiet voice. "I didn't want to tell you, but I probably can't pay the next rate of the mortgage."

"What?!"

"That was the reason I stayed in Arcadia Bay. I wanted to do some extra shifts to get enough money, but then…then this happened and I had to buy a ticket and the hotel and…" She sighed. "Chloe, if I have to pay you an extra ticket and a longer stay, we will lose the house."

"Then ask the bank to give us some more time. I could get a job, too, and…"

"It's not that simple, Chloe. The bank won't give us another postponement. I have to pay this rate or…I'm sorry, sweetheart!"

"Joyce…" Ryan addressed her, calmly. "I know we aren't seeing eye to eye right now, but our offer still stands, Chloe can stay with us. We'll take care of her. That's the least we could do."

"Mom, please!"

The tall woman sighed deeply. "But this doesn't solve the problem of getting you back to Arcadia."

"I think I can help with that." David Madsen's voice chimed behind Chloe, making everyone look at him. "I couldn't overhear that you need a ride to Arcadia Bay. I'm actually heading there myself. So, I could give you a lift."

"I don't know." Joyce murmured.

"Mom…" Chloe said, looking at her mother with pleading, watery eyes. "I know I've never been an easy child, but…please, mom, don't take us apart. Not after I almost lost her. Make it my late Christmas- and early birthday-present, if you want to. Cut my allowance, I don't care. Just let me stay, please!"

The next seconds felt like hours for the young girl as she waited for her mom to make a decision. It was almost unbearable for her.

Joyce's loud sigh finally broke the tense atmosphere. "Alright. But…"

With a shriek of joy, Chloe jumped at her mother and gave her a strong hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried out in relief.

"But…" Joyce almost yelled to gain her daughter's attention again. "…no strolls throughout Seattle all by yourself, especially not at night!"

Chloe broke the hug, nodded frantically and wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "Promised!"

"And keep me up to date every day." Joyce said, while she embraced her daughter again. "Take good care of yourself and of Max!"

"Will do, mom. Thanks again!"

Both parted and the blonde woman gave her daughter one last brush over her cheek and a weak smile, before she shifted her attention towards David Madsen. "Mr. Madsen, I thank you for your offer and take it. We just have to stop by the hotel and get my things."

"That will be no problem Mrs. Price." he answered with a smile.

"Call me Joyce, please!"

"Only if you call me David." the tall man joked, which made Joyce giggle. Then he turned one last time to Chloe and shook her hand once more. "Take care of your friend, Chloe! I hope she'll get well soon."

Chloe looked deeply into David's brown eyes, her gaze radiating gratefulness. "Thanks, David! For everything!"

He gave her one last smile, before he moved on to the Caulfield's. "Thank you, Mr. Madsen. We owe you a lot, so if you need anything…"

"No need to." David answered. "I just did what any citizen should do. Besides, I was not the one who saved your daughter in the first place. Without Chloe's first aid, even I wouldn't have been able to help her. So, if anyone, you should thank her."

Hearing such praising words from an almost strange man, Chloe just gazed to her feet, not knowing what to say. For her, saving Max's life was something self-evident. Her life revolved around her girlfriend. Losing her, meant losing her will to keep on living.

Joyce and David took their leave. Chloe watched as her mom embarked an overtuned car.

' _Huh, a muscle car…kinda figures. At least he seems to be a nice guy. Well, can't label a book by its cover…sometimes._ '

"Chloe?"

Be called by her name let the young blonde gaze at Ryan. "Hmm?"

"Are you coming?"

Although Chloe knew that she's just been thrown out if the hospital, she was very determined to go back in there. She knew that Max needed her right now. Even imagining how it must feel to wake up and nobody's there, just sent a shiver along her spine.

' _I never wanna be alone again! Those weeks without Max were so fucked and I don't want her to go through this!'_

"Listen, Ryan, I know it sounds crazy, but I wanna try to get in there again. Max needs me and, honestly, I need her."

Instead of telling her that her plan was almost impossible, Max's dad just nodded. "Alright, but I need to take my wife back home first. Try your best to get back to Max's room. But no matter what happens, stay inside until I'm back, okay?"

After giving him a nod, Chloe watched Ryan and Vanessa walking back to their car.

' _Damn! Vanessa looks really bad. Mom gave her some pretty heavy shit to think about. Hopefully she's gonna be okay again._ '

She shouldered her backpack, ready to get inside and, if necessary, talk her way back to Max's room.

' _Okay Price, here goes nothing!_ '


	16. Chapter 16: Scars, part 2

**Here it is, the last chapter of this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Scars, part 2**

Chloe hadn't even taken one step past the sliding door, as the Security Guard, who had thrown her out, headed towards her.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you to stay out?"

' _Okay, Chloe, now be diplomatic, raging won't bring you far with this guy._ '

Despite that she wished for nothing more than to flip him off again, Chloe took a deep breath to stay calm. "C'mon, dude. I'm sorry that my mom freaked out, okay? But I didn't do anything wrong."

The guard crossed his arms and blocked her way, his expression stern. "And I said I don't care."

Chloe now crossed her arms, too. It became very hard for her to hold her composure.

' _What a stubborn dickhead! Damn, I don't think that diplomacy works with this mall cop, neither will asskicking. I need to outsmart this dumbass!_ '

"So, you don't care that up there lies a traumatized girl, who's gonna wake up in an unfamiliar place with no familiar person around to hold on to? That's really fucked up, y'know?"

The stern expression vanished from his face and his arms unfolded. It took the guard some time to come up with a reply. "Hey, I'm just keeping the peace up here!"

"And what do you think, how peaceful it's gonna be here when she screams my name throughout the hospital, huh?"

Again, the guard lacked some words, his mouth opening and closing several times. He clearly became nervous, shifting his weight from one foot to another, and averting Chloe's chiding glare. "I'm sorry, b-but I'm just doing my job here."

This answer only let Chloe scoff. "Yeah, mentally torturing little girls; great job indeed! Does it get paid well?"

"I…I…No!...uh…"

' _Game, set, match!_ '

"Larry, what the heck is going on here?" Nurse Stephanie's voice chimed through the lobby as she closed in. "Why are you stopping this girl from visiting her friend?"

"Sh-she disturbed the peace!" he said with a shivering and unsecure tone.

Now the nurse crossed her arms like Chloe and took position right beside the strawberry-blonde girl. "Oh really? What did she do?"

"She…uhm…her mother yelled at other visitors."

"Are you saying that she's responsible for the actions of her mother? Get your fucking head out of your fucking ass and let her visit her poor friend, who almost died, you stupid asshole!" the blonde woman said furiously, painting a big, wry smirk on Chloe's face. "C'mon, Chloe!"

Completely intimidated, Larry the guard just stood there, not moving or saying a thing. The nurse grabbed Chloe's hand and walked with her past the security man. Before they entered the hospital wing where Max laid, Chloe waved the still stunned guard a kiss good bye, followed by a middle finger.

"I heard that there's been some commotion in ICU. What happened?" the nurse suddenly asked as they waited for the elevator.

"My mom freaked on Max's mom." Chloe answered nonchalantly.

"Why?"

A Bing chimed and the elevator doors slid open. Some hospital stuff left the cabin, while Chloe and the nurse entered. During the ride, the young girl told Stephanie about the whole situation.

"This sucks! But I kinda know what you two are going through."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Y'know, I met my fiancée in prison while I was working there as a nurse in the medical wing. He was serving two years for drug dealing and other stuff. But he changed during his stay. The longer I knew him, the more I recognized how he became a kind person and wanted to do something with his life. Get a job, have a family 'n' stuff. Damn…he even hit his thumb with a hammer intentionally, just to see me and ask me for a date."

Chloe scrunched up her nose and hissed in pain as she imagined how it would feel to drop a hammer on her own thumb. "Ouch! Sounds like love that hurts."

"He's such a cute romantic!" the nurse replied with a sigh, but became serious in a blink of an eye. "Anyway, my parents didn't accept that her 'baby-girl' was dating a felon. Two years ago, I gave them a choice: accept my relationship or go to hell."

With another Bing the metallic door slit open again and they both left the elevator, heading for Max's room.

"So, what happened? Did they agree eventually?"

At first, Chloe's question got only answered with a scoff. Then, they both stopped in front of the door to Max's room. "Let's say it this way: I haven't spoken with my patents in two years now." The door opened with a click and the blonde woman entered the room.

"That really sucks ass!" Chloe commented and followed.

Max was still asleep as Chloe came in. The strawberry-blonde gazed at her girlfriend with a warm smile, the intense feeling of love flooding her body.

' _She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. Gosh, I could kiss her cute, freckled face a thousand times and still wouldn't be satisfied. I'm so glad that she's gonna be okay._ '

A soft touch on her shoulder let Chloe's sight shift to Stephanie again.

"I wanna move her from ICU to her room now. Can you wake her?" she whispered to Chloe with a soft smile.

Giving her a slight nod, Chloe moved closer to Max's bed, sat down on the edge and began to brush gently over her cheek and through her hair. "Hey, wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!" she whispered softly.

Max inhaled deeply as her lips formed a warm smile and her doe-eyes opened slowly. "Hi Chlo!" was her quiet answer.

Chloe leaned in and gave Max a soft kiss. As their lips touched, she couldn't do anything else than to hold her breath and enjoy the moment. Feeling her beloved girlfriend's warm lips sent another jolt of intensive love through her entire body.

After they'd broken the kiss, the blonde girl inhaled deeply with closed eyes.

"You two are such a cute couple!" Stephanie said, ending this quiet moment.

"Yeah!" Chloe replied, gazed at a slightly blushed Max and giggled. "Ready to move to your room, Maximus?"

The younger girl shrugged. "As ready as I can be…I think."

Chloe took all of Max's stuff and the nurse prepared her bed and every needed medically equipment for the transport. 15 Minutes later, Max lied in her new room. Nurse Stephanie took her leave right after everything was in order, leaving Max and Chloe alone.

Both girls gazed at each other for some time, holding hands.

"Where's everyone?"

Chloe told Max what had happened after Vanessa had left her room. The brunette girl's expression became darker with every spoken word, until she was staring at the ceiling in complete absence.

Caressing her hand, Chloe tried to sooth her. She wanted to say something; wanted to take everything from her small shoulders. And as she had thought about some encouraging words, Max suddenly spoke in an almost whispering tone.

"One tiny picture fucked up so much. It hurt so many people. And I idiot thought I had everything under control. I thought I'd figured it out." A droplet ran down Max's cheek as she sniffed. She gazed at Chloe, her eyes flooding with tears. "I can't do this anymore, Chlo. I don't wanna see you die over and over again. I want this to end!"

Chloe cupped Max's already wet cheek with her hand and brushed over it with her thumb. Seeing Max like this gave her heart a big sting; almost made her despair.

' _She looks so broken; so devastated. I never saw her like this before. But I don't think that the robbery or her injury is the cause for this. I need to know!_ '

Chloe took a deep breath, gathering all courage to ask Max the one question that was pestering her for days now. "Max, you need to tell me. What is going on? Since the day my…my dad died you're acting so strange. I-I always thought that it was because of me or…our feelings for each other, but…" She took another deep breath. "Max, before we were mugged you said something about that you knew this shit would happen and…and that we were in danger and…FUCK!" Chloe jumped up from her seat and began to walk around the room, holding her head tight like she's afraid to lose it. "You always tell me that you don't want me to die, and every time you told me this some fucked up shit happened."

"Chloe."

Max's quiet voice let the blonde stop in her tracks.

"There is something you need to know, but…" The younger girl's sight was fixed on her hands, averting Chloe's glare. "Can you hand me my cam bag, please?"

Chloe did was she was told and gave Max the old camera bag. She saw how the brunette girl brought forth two notebooks and handed them to her. One of them, Chloe realized as Max's Diary, but the other one was unknown to her.

"Max, I don't…" the blonde began, gazing at her girlfriend with eyes wide open.

"Chloe, I'm not in the condition to tell you this right now. It…" Her voice broke for a moment. "Going through all of this right now would literally break me. But you need to know; you need to understand!"

Chloe gave the small girl a nod, then the door opened and a nurse peeked in.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but visitor's time is over."

Max spread her arms, signing her girlfriend that she needed a hug and Chloe complied without any hesitation. "Start with the day William died!" she whispered into her ear. "I love you so much, Chlo!"

Chloe closed her eyes shut, trying to hold back some tears. She wanted to stay with Max; wanted to hold on to her forever. Her voice was trembling. "I love you, too, Maxi!"

Then they parted. Until Chloe was out of the door, neither of them broke eye contact. Both were afraid to lose each other. Both were afraid of the future. And both were afraid of the truth. The truth Chloe was carrying in her hands right now.

* * *

Although visitor's time had been over for some time now, Chloe was allowed to stay in the lobby until Ryan returned to pick her up.

Despite of having Max's Diary, she hadn't read it yet. She knew, whatever secret would be revealed in there, it was huge. A big secret Max had been carrying around for almost three months. And now she was close to find it out, but not in public; not as long as other people were around.

"Chloe?" Ryan suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed on the traffic.

"Hmm?"

"We barely had the chance to talk about this messed up situation privately. I think now is a good time."

"Ryan…" she sighed. "Listen, I'm not in the mood right now."

As the car came to a hold at a red traffic light, the bearded man gave Chloe an agitated glare. "My wife had a complete meltdown and blames herself for what happened. My daughter lies in a hospital, lucky to be still alive. Do you really think I give a damn about your mood right now?"

The blonde girl stayed silent and her gaze dropped upon those furious words, only to get raised again by a soft touch on her shoulder. The anger had vanished from Ryan's eyes and his voice was calm again.

"Chloe, a few days ago, all I wanted was a nice Christmas dinner with my family, and yes, this includes you, too. But instead, I came home from work, found my wife completely devastated, my daughter and her friend gone, and not even 20 minutes later the police called and told me that you two were robbed and on your way to the hospital. There, they told me that they were fighting for my daughter's life and you were injured and in shock, not able to tell anyone what had happened. " He paused for a short moment. "Chloe, we were responsible for your well-being and failed. We failed on keeping you both safe. I and my wife are questioning ourselves as parents." Ryan exhaled deeply, calming down some more. "Now, all I want are some answers. I want to see the whole picture, and the only missing piece is the relationship between you and Max."

For a short moment there was silence. Chloe knew that she went through hell; that she suffered a lot those last days; but she never looked at the other side. How Max's parents were doing, and she realized that, in a different way, they were doing worse.

' _They deserve to know! Max is their daughter and they need to know what's going on._ '

The blaring of a horn right behind them ended the quiet moment. Ryan shifted his attention back to the traffic and drove on.

"Everything I know so far is what Joyce and Vanessa have told me, and this is not much. So, tell me, since when are you and Max together?" Ryan began in a nonchalantly tone.

"Th-Thanksgiving. We…uhm…that was the day it became legit."

"And before?"

"Just some teasing and…flirting from my side."

"So, you took the initiative?"

"No." Chloe huffed. A wry smile formed on her face as she remembered her first real kiss with Max. "I merely panicked all the time. Maxi was the one who initiated our first kiss."

"Huh!" he huffed.

"Ryan, if Max hadn't shown me any affection I would've backed off, I swear!"

"I know." he replied calmly, giving Chloe a short, friendly glimpse.

"Y-you know?"

"Chloe…" Ryan began. "You are the best that could have happened to Max. Every time, since you two know each other, she was happy when she'd spent the day with you. And every day you didn't see each other was a sad day. You always cared about her; protected her. What else does a caring father want?"

"What does a caring mother want?" Chloe snipped back, more sassy than she intended to.

"Vanessa…" He sighed. "My wife has always been overprotective when it came to Max, but not in a good way. She meant well, but…I'm so sorry for what she'd said!"

"It hurt, y'know, and not only me."

"And still you are willing to forgive her. Today, you even stepped in for Vanessa; defended her against your own mom. That was nothing else but noble!" The car stopped in the driveway of the Caulfield's house. Ryan turned off the engine and turned to Chloe, a warm smile emerging through his beard. "You're a good person, Chloe! And to make things official: I hereby give you my blessing to date my daughter!"

The blonde's eyes opened wide in surprise. She didn't know what to say. Everything she managed to do was to bridge the gap to Max's dad and pulled him into a tight hug, which he responded with chuckle.

"Thank you!" she whispered with a trembling voice, clearly relieved that her relationship with Max was now official and accepted.

* * *

With an audible click the door to Max's room locked. Chloe walked over to her girlfriend's desk, threw the two notebooks on it and sat down. She buried her face in her hands and exhaled deeply.

' _Ugh, what a fucked up day! Luckily Ryan let me go upstairs right away and didn't force me to attend dinner._ '

Her gaze fell upon the two books in front of her as she peeked through her fingers.

' _I'm kinda afraid of what I will find in there, but…I need to know what's going on with Maxi. Something is burdening her so hard. Well, what's the saying? A shared burden is a halved burden…or whatever._ '

Chloe took Max's Diary and opened the first page. An impish grin formed on her face as she read the first lines.

* * *

 _Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!_

 _Yes, Chloe, I mean you! Be gone, oh nosy Captain Bluebeard, or your faithful First Mate will start a mutiny and keelhaul you!_

 _Seriously, are you still reading?!_

 _There will be cereal consequences!_

* * *

"I love you, too, Maxi!" she spoke and started to flick through the first pages and looked at some photos, reading some passages here and there. Then, she stopped and read an entry.

' _Wow, the Science Fair! The only event where you can win by almost blowing up your entire booth. Dad was so proud of me when I…Dad!_ '

Chloe's gaze fixed on the glued in picture, showing her with her father, after she'd won the first price. Her eyes became watery and she sniffed, all the memories of her dad rushing through her head.

The next pages were accompanied by the same rollercoaster of emotions. Happy and fond memories shadowed by grief. More than one time she had to pause as her feelings overwhelmed the young girl, until she suddenly stopped at one specific page. It was decorated with black tape, doodled flowers and a picture of William. The ink was partially smudged.

"The day my dad died!" whispered Chloe and began to read.

* * *

 _October 4_ _th_ _, 2008_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today, something terrible happened. William, Chloe's dad, died in a car crash. It happened so fast. One moment we were fooling around in the kitchen, the next he left the house, never to return. But even worse is seeing Chloe in such pain. It literally breaks my heart. I can't even describe it in words how I'm feeling right now._

 _If I couldn't bring up the courage to tell Chloe about my move to Seattle before, how am I supposed to do it now? I can't just leave her alone, not like this!_

 _Hopefully, Chloe will be better soon! She means so much to me. Like, a lot. Yes, oh dear Diary, somehow my feelings for Chloe have changed. I don't know why or what it means, but…maybe it's nothing, just this fucked up day._

 _Max Caulfield, in extreme grief-mode, gonna shed some more tears_

* * *

Chloe wiped her cheeks with the sleeves of her hoodie and sniffled. Actually, she didn't recall anything of the following days after her dad's demise. Her memories stopped from the moment the police had called and only kicked back in over a week later, when Max brought her pancakes.

The blonde girl flicked to the next page, ready for another barrage of emotions. This time, it was a rather short entry, lacking all common decorations and doodles.

* * *

 _October 9_ _th_ _, 2008_

 _Today was William's funeral and I know one thing: funerals suck hard!_

 _Chloe's doing worse and…_

 _I CAN'T WRITE THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!_

* * *

Chloe blinked several times as she read this entry.

' _Damn, this whole shit took a lot of her. I'm so sorry, Maxi, that you had to go through all of this by yourself!'_

The entry on the next page was longer again.

' _That's the day before I…well, woke up again!_ '

* * *

 _October 12_ _th_ _, 2008_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _you won't believe what I'm about to tell you right now. The first time this happened was the day William died. Said day I woke up after a pretty fucked nightmare. And in this nightmare I saw Chloe's death! How she was lying in a pool of her own blood. I know, that's some heavy shit and I didn't take it for granted, but the thing is, two hours later it happened again. This time, I saw William's death and then how it (probably) changed Chloe._

 _How fucked is that, huh? I foresaw William's death and could've prevented it! Sadly, I didn't realize at this point that these "dreams" showed me the future. Yes, oh Log of a crazy person, I have Visions about the future._

* * *

Chloe stopped reading in an instant, her eyes wide open once more.

' _What the fuck?! Visions?! Foresaw my dad's death?! Foresaw MY death?! What the hell?!_ '

The blonde girl went over these last lines again and again, to make sure that they were real. But as much as she wished for it, they were no figment of her imagination, so she continued.

* * *

 _And today it happened again! I was with Chloe all day, her condition still unchanged, and whoosh, back to fucked-up-vision-land with the same bullshit as before. Why her? Why my best friend?_

 _Dog, I miss my old Chloe so much and seeing her suffer in reality and in these dreams…Visions…whatever, just kills me. I want her to be okay, to be with me again. And…maybe more…ugh, just scratch this last stuff._

 _Anyway, I decided to stay here, in Arcadia Bay, but my parents just suck and told me that we have to move to Seattle. And on top of that, mom forbade me to see Chloe again. Can you belief this crap?!_

 _Well, that's it then, no more nice little Maxine Caulfield! Time to go into badass-mode! Tomorrow, I'm gonna sneak out of the house to visit Chloe again!_

 _Yes, mom, fuck you!_

 _And then, I'm gonna make up a plan to stay here!_

 _Max Caulfield, in full badass-rebellious-mode, ready to thrash Arcadia Bay!_

* * *

"Okay, Chloe, don't freak!" Chloe spoke, her breathing heavy and her mind close to a panic-attack. She jumped up from the chair and walked around the room, talking to herself. "This…this can't be true. This has to be a fucking joke! It's just not possible! Maybe the answer is in this other book. Yes, that's it! The other one must be her real Diary and that was just a fucking decoy to lure me into a trap; to throw me off balance and make me give away that I read her Diary. Nice move, Maximus!"

As she took the next notebook from the desk, she frowned. ' _Possible locations for nature shots? Yup, nice title for hiding something from me, 'cause the hell I would've touched such boring artsy-shit.'_

And again, she flicked through the pages, but instead of calming her down, it made her even more panicky and almost furious.

' _What the fuck is this?! Lose notes, catchwords, catchphrases, dates, lines? The hell? This makes no sense at all…Wait! The dates!_ '

Chloe sat down again and compared the content of the two books.

' _This book describes her Visions more detailed. Fuck, it looks more like a compilation of fucked up nightmares. No wonder that Maxi was so edgy sometimes._ '

As the date in the Diary showed the 21st of October, Chloe stopped and a wave of negative feelings flushed over her as she read the entry.

' _That's the day she left for Seattle, because I fucked up big time. I'm so sorry, Maxi! I didn't want to hurt you! Ugh, I wish I could undo it, I…wait! She had another Vision on this day?'_

She searched for the right page in the Log book and gasped as she found and read it. Realization struck her as Chloe remembered what Max said to her right after she'd stopped her from beating up Jasmine.

' _Sh-she told me that I'd kill her if I keep on beating her up, and that I'd go to prison, and…_ '

Her train of thought came to an instant halt as she read the last catchphrases. New tears were rolling down her face as she saw how this Vision ended. "I-I hurt her? I…I abused her?" she said with a trembling voice and shook her head. "No! This…I would never hurt her. Not my Maxi. This…can't…fuck!" Chloe's voice failed and a sob emerged from her mouth as she imagined how she would hit her most beloved Max.

' _Why? Why is she seeing such fucked up shit? How could she live on with this? Oh Maxi, I'm so, so sorry! If I'd just known what you're going through!'_

' _I can't read this shit anymore, I…No! I need to go on! I can't let her carry this weight all by herself!'_

Although, Chloe was already crying and felt like she was about to break any minute, she kept going. She fought through every phrase and every sentence. Each word stung in her heart. After she'd finally read the last entry, she embraced her body, collapsed to the ground, and cried hard.

Now, everything made sense. Now, she understood every warning Max had ever given her. Now, she knew what Max went through, all those months. Now, she was finally sharing Max's burden, and it almost crushed her.

* * *

"Chloe?"

Max's soft voice and the slight squeeze on her hand brought the blonde girl back from her deep thoughts. She gazed into her girlfriend's blue eyes and instantly she was reminded of all those grim Visions and the pain Max had experienced.

' _She suffered so much…and for what? A stupid fuckup like me._ '

Chloe's face grimaced and she turned away as she began to cry again. She'd cried the whole night, unable to sleep, because the thoughts about Max's Visions had clawed themselves deep into her mind, telling her that she's the cause why Max got them in the first place.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Chloe whimpered, while Max brushed through her hair.

"No, Chloe, I'm the one who has to be sorry." The younger girl said with a calm and comforting voice. "I'm the one who isn't strong enough to deal with this mess."

Immediately, Chloe jumped up and took a few steps back.

"Not strong enough?!" she yelled, but calmed down again after she took some deep breaths. "I only read about this shit and…just look at me! I'm done! And you…" She closed in on Max again and took her small hand, her voice trembling. "You fought through this crap for over three months all by yourself, just…for me. I…" Chloe looked away, knowing that her next words might be hard for Max. "Maybe it's better to accept fate instead of fighting it."

The brunette girl touched Chloe's face softly, letting their sights meet once again. "Wh-what do you mean?"

And again, Chloe broke the gaze. "Maybe we should let things happen. I-I mean…fuck! You're suffering and suffering, just to keep me alive until the next Vision comes up. Maybe it is my destiny to die."

"NO!" Max suddenly screamed, her eyes all watery and her hands shaking out of anger, clawing deep into Chloe's. "I am not gonna let you die! Not in a million years!" Her gaze dropped and a bunch of tears dripped onto her lap, as her anger abated slowly. "I don't wanna lose you, Chlo! I don't want HER to be right!"

"Who?" Chloe asked in surprise, because she knew that she was the only one who had knowledge about Max's abilities.

Realizing that she hadn't told Chloe about her dream, yet, Max calmed down a bit more and began to tell her about it.

"While I was unconscious, I had…I don't know…some sort of dream. I was at the Arcadia Bay lighthouse and…there SHE was." The young girl sighed and a slight scoff escaped her mouth. "Dog, this sounds so unbelievable."

"Dude, at this point, I belief you everything." Chloe mentioned with a reassuring squeeze.

"I saw ME. I-I mean…not ME me…but…an older Version of myself."

"Like a Future-Max?"

"I don't know. Anyway, she told me that I need to let you go or 'something' might happen."

"Something?" Chloe huffed. "Not very accurate."

"Well, the dream ended before she could get specific about that."

"Huh. But what if it was something serious? I mean, it was Future-Max and…"

"She was a fucking asshole and hypocrite, Chlo! Instead of giving me some valid information, she preferred to tell me how she was suffering from losing HER Chloe, and then made fun of me. Would you listen to someone like her?"

"Uhm…no."

"See! Dream or not, Future-Max can shove it!"

"But what if – despite the fact that she sucks; which she does – she was right?"

Max leaned forward and gave Chloe a small kiss. "I don't care, because…" The younger girl took Chloe's hand and entwined their fingers, a warm smile on her lips. "…our fates are intertwined. Forever!"

"And ever!" Chloe added softly and both shared another, but this time more intense, kiss.

* * *

After their kiss, Chloe had laid her head on Max's lap, who brushed through her strawberry-blonde hair. Both stayed silent, enjoying their warmth and closeness.

"Maxi?" Chloe spoke quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Did the Future-Max in your dream tell you something else, except that you should let me go?"

The brunette girl stayed mute for a while, trying to recall some details from this dream. "She said some crazy stuff about other Maxines and that our reality shouldn't exist. Ugh, it's hard to remember this confusing shit. Why do you ask?"

Chloe lifted herself up in order to look at Max, sternly. "If this dream wasn't just a dream, but a warning, then we need as much info as possible!"

"But most of this stuff didn't make any sense. Other Maxines and Chloes? Realities that shouldn't exist? What's that suppose to mean?"

"Hmm, it's actually pretty interesting!" Chloe spoke a bit absent, buried in deep thoughts.

Max squeezed her girlfriend's hand again, to gain her attention again. "What is interesting?"

"Ever heard of the Multiverse-Theory?"

"Uhm, you mean like other dimensions, where the earth is ruled by giant, man-eating insects?" Max mentioned, giving Chloe a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, kinda. But not that extreme. Although it is more philosophically, there is a theory which states that for every decision we make exists another universe."

"Whoa! That seems like a lot of universes!"

"Mh-hm. Like an indefinite number with a whole fucking lot of possibilities." the blonde said with a nod and began to grin wryly as her brain went into fooling-mode. "So, there might actually be a universe where you bailed on me for Seattle, only to return some years later to safe my neck in a gunfight, like a knight in shining armor."

Both girls look at each other for some moments and then started to laugh.

"And I'd probably have some crazy superpowers!" Max giggled.

"Yeah, like the ability to stop bullets or teleportation 'n' shit." And again they laughed out loud for several minutes, until Chloe gazed at Max with a warm, wide smile. "It's nice to see you actually laughing again!" she mentioned, softly brushing a tear of joy from her girlfriend's cheek.

"Thanks for making me laugh!"

"I love you, Maxi!" Chloe whispered and leaned in to place another kiss on her loved one's soft lips.

"I love you, too, Chloe!" Max responded, touched Chloe on the back of her head and pulled her in for another long kiss.

"Should I come back later?" Ryan's voice suddenly chimed from the door.

The two lovers broke the kiss hastily, and while Chloe stayed relaxed, Max blushed beet-red in an instant.

"Ever heard about knocking, dad?" the younger girl blurted out, clearly ashamed that her father caught her kissing with Chloe.

"Chillax, Maxi!" the blonde girl snickered. "Your dad's fine with it. He even allowed me to date you."

"You did?" she addressed her dad in awe.

Ryan chuckled as he came closer, set down a pair of big plastic bags and gave his daughter a strong hug. "Of course, kiddo! What's a relationship without dating? Besides…" He stepped back and put his hands on Chloe's and Max's shoulder. "…you two belong together, period!"

"B-but what about mom? Is she fine with it?" Max asked with concern, her face darkening.

Knowing about the difficult situation between his wife and his daughter, Ryan sighed. "For the last few days, I discussed it with her, and she's gonna be fine with it eventually. Max, you have to belief me, your mom is very sorry for what happened."

"I know, and one day, I'll be able to forgive her, but…"

The bearded man squeezed his daughter's shoulder softly and gave her a warm smile. "Take your time, munchkin. Good things always need some time."

"Thanks, dad!" the brunette girl answered with a soft smile.

"C'mon guys, enough with this negative shit…chat" Chloe corrected herself upon Ryan's chiding glare. "Maxi, since Christmas went completely to hell your folks and I had the idea to give you your presents today. Whaddaya think?"

Max's eyes sparkled and a wide smile formed on her face, because unwrapping of gifts has always been her most precious moment at Christmas- and birthdays. "Are you cereal?!"

"Yup!" Chloe responded and gave her a small, wrapped box, which she pulled out of her backpack. "Merry late Christmas, dude!"

The brunette girl ripped off the wrapping instantly and opened the small box. It contained a black leather necklace with three bullets attached to it. "Whoa!" she said in awe and took it. "That's so cool! Where'd you get it?"

"I…uh…there is this tiny store for…y'know…Alternative-stuff in Arcadia Bay and there I found it. Thought it would make you look pretty badass! Actually, I wanted to give it to you for your birthday, but chickened out, 'cause…well…y'know, your mom and bullets and your safety." Chloe answered with a wry smile, scratching the back of her neck.

The younger girl pulled her girlfriend in for another big hug. "This necklace is so awesome! Thanks, Chlo!" After parting again, Max pulled the necklace over her head. "How do I look?"

A mischievous grin formed on Chloe's face. "Badass!"

"Well, not your usual style, but I have to agree with Chloe, it looks…badass!" Ryan added with a smile. "And this…" he handed the young girl a big package. "…is from us. Merry late Christmas, kiddo!"

Max opened the big box and rummaged through the content. New instant film, a sweater, some sweets, a gift certificate and another box, which made her gasp in excitement once more. "Wowser! A new Expansion-Set for my D 'n' D game!"

"That was actually Chloe's idea, that's why I came a bit later."

"Yeah, I figured that we both will spend many boring hours here, so, how about we send Callamastia and Valkyrie on some wicked quests?" Chloe told her with a grin and brought forth Max's D & D game from her pack, too.

"Hell yeah!" the younger girl cheered in excitement, but then turned to her father. "Dad, did you bring Chloe's presents, too?"

"Of course!" Ryan handed Chloe now two boxes. A big rectangular one and a small one.

"Th-thanks!" Chloe stammered, totally surprised, as she took the presents.

"Open them up, Chlo!" Max urged her.

Nervously, the blonde girl opened the bigger box with shaking hands and almost dropped it as she saw what was in it. "Wh-what the…a new Skateboard?!"

"That's not everything. Turn it around!"

A gasp escaped her mouth, as Chloe looked at the custom styled bottom side of the board. It showed intertwining wine tendrils, entangling a scull, a heart and an inscription, saying _Forever and Ever_.

Chloe's lips trembled, while her eyes welled up. Once again, she lacked some words. "Max, th-that's so…I can't even…"

The brunette touched her girlfriend's hand softly and gazed into her eyes deeply. "Thanks for being my best friend and girlfriend! Merry late Christmas, Chloe!"

Out of all other options for showing her gratitude, Chloe almost jumped on Max and hugged her like crazy, sniffing and shedding some tears. "You're so awesome, Maxi! I love you so much!"

"I love you, too, Chloe!" the brunette replied with a giggle.

"Well, I guess our gift can't keep up with this." Ryan mentioned with a jokingly scoff, scratching his head.

"Sorry, I…I almost forgot." the blonde said, broke the hug and wiped the wet lines on her face away. She opened the smaller box, and this time she really dropped it as she saw that it contained a brand-new phone. Luckily it landed on Max's bed and not on the ground. "I-I can't take it. This is too much."

"Chloe…" Ryan said, looking at her daughter's girlfriend with a warm smile. "My family owes you a lot! And a new phone is the least we can give you. Besides, how are you and Max supposed to communicate with each other when you got no phone?"

Chloe jumped up and wrapped one arm around Ryan and pulled him down so she could put her other arm around Max in order to hug them simultaneously. "Thanks! You guys are so amazing! Thank you so much!"

* * *

Chloe closed the zipper on Max's thick jacket and made sure that every part of her body was protected from the cold air outside.

"Ready?"

"Mh-hm!" Max, who sat in a wheelchair, answered with a nod.

"You sure it's not gonna kill her, Steph? 'Cause I need her like crazy!" Chloe asked the blonde nurse with some concern, readying herself, too.

The blonde woman gave her a shrug. "As long as we don't push her over the edge she should be fine." she said nonchalantly, which let both young girls stare at her with eyes wide open and their mouths agape. "Sorry, that was my dark side." she added with a wry smirk.

"Wow! Lifesaving white angel during the day, and morbid, death-yearning goth-girl during night…yup, figures!"

"That's who I am!" the nurse singsonged and took a peek out of the door. "Okay, the security patrol just went by. Get to the elevator at the end of this hallway as fast as possible! Here…" She handed Chloe a set of keys. "Use this key and get to the highest floor, a.k.a. the roof. Look for a nice spot, but not the helipad, and wait for me there, got it?"

"Elevator. Key. Roof. Not the helipad. Got it!"

"If someone stops you, just stall them until I arrive. Don't try to talk your way out or make some suspicious stuff!"

"Avert other people. Don't get caught. Don't do what I usually do. Something else?" Chloe replied with a sigh, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Nurse Stephanie grabbed the blonde girl's arm and glanced at her sternly. "Chloe, I mean it! You're not allowed in here at this time of night and Max should be in bed. We could all get in big trouble for this. I could lose my job and you'd be banned from the hospital. You want that?"

Her gaze dropped as Chloe realized once more that, sometimes, you have to play by the rules. "No."

Changing from serious to happy again, the blonde nurse gave Chloe a reassuring smile. "Then off you go, you fools!"

Chloe rolled Max out of the room and down the quiet hall. Her steps and the sound of the wheelchair echoed through the hallway. Because of the eerie silence of the night it seemed to be louder than during daytime. Suddenly, another room door was opened.

"Shit!" the blonde girl hissed and looked around to find a place for them to hide. Max's room was already too far away, so going back was a no go.

"In there!" whispered Max, signing at a door that was slightly ajar.

Opening it further with her butt, Chloe pulled Max inside and closed the door cautiously to avoid any noise. She heard how some footsteps came closer and then stopped nearby. Her heart beat faster and her breathing was shaky, while every second lasted what felt like hours. The blonde glimpsed at Max and saw that she was pretty nervous, too, and instantly began to worry, if this was too much stress for her.

Then, the person outside began to move again, the footsteps now fading in the distance until they were gone.

"Phew! That was fucking close!" Chloe whispered with a deep exhale, examining the room they were in.

"Y-yeah." Max replied.

"Hmm, we're in a supply room. You know what that means?"

"No."

"That we have to make out."

"That's just a stupid cliché, Chlo! Besides, I'm not in the mood and about to get a heat stroke. Can we now go to the elevator, please?" Max urged with a sour expression, blushing beet-red as she imagined how it would be to make out with Chloe.

"Alright, alright! Let me just check the perimeter."

The blonde girl opened the door slowly and took a look outside.

"Okay, the coast is clear. Let's bail!" she said, and both made their way to the elevators.

After some more nerve-wracking moments the metal doors finally opened, and Max and Chloe entered the, luckily empty, elevator.

With a Bing they arrived at the top floor. As the doors slit open, the cold winter air whipped into their faces and made them shiver. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, giving everything an almost romantic atmosphere.

"Okay, let's find us a nice place. Uhm…maybe there."

Chloe pointed at a spot nearby, but as she was about to move, Max hit the break on her wheelchair and made the blonde aware of another place on the roof, a bit farther away. "No, better over there!"

"Why?"

"From there we'll have a better angle and the lights from the helipad won't blind us too much."

"Fine…" sighed the older girl. "You're the photographer." And pushed her girlfriend over to said spot.

"See, way better. Am I right?"

"Smartass!"

The two girls watched the city skyline of Seattle for some time, none of them speaking a word. Only the whisper of the wind and the sounds of the city it carried broke this quiet moment from time to time. As, suddenly, Chloe let out a deep exhale.

"Y'know, Maxi, I thought about a lotta things during these last days. And although this Christmas has been fucked up in every possible way, I'm actually glad that we spent it together."

Max shifted her gaze from the panoramic view to Chloe with furrowed eyebrows, clearly puzzled. "What do you mean?"

After a short glimpse, the blonde's sight dropped. Her voice was calm, though she felt more like crying again. "This was the first Christmas without my dad, but it was also my first Christmas with you as my girlfriend and…I don't know, even the fact that we ended up in a hospital didn't ruin it. I'm…I'm actually happy. Happy to be with you!" She grabbed Max's hand and squeezed it softly, giving her the warmest smile she'd ever experienced. "You make me happy, Max! You were there for me when I needed you. You gave me strength and hope in these dark days of grief after my dad died. You fought for me, went literally through hell. And all of this, just to keep me by your side."

"Chloe, I…" Max tried to reply, but was stopped right after Chloe shook her head and continued to talk with a brittle voice.

"No, Max, it's not something every friend would've done. It's not self-evident. You risked everything for me and I hereby swear by the universe that I'll be always at your side, forever!"

"And ever!" Max whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I love you, Chloe!"

"I love you, too, Maxi!" Chloe answered, leaned down and placed a kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

Once more, both girls enjoyed the view and silence for some moments.

"What time is it?" Max suddenly asked, trying to get the coldness out of her hands by rubbing and breathing into them.

"Almost midnight."

"You have my cam?"

"Sure thing, Maximus!" Chloe took the bag with Max's digi-cam from her shoulder and handed it to the younger girl, who took it out and shot some photos.

"I'm glad the police got this asshole, 'cause I kinda start to like my new cam!"

"Yeah…" Chloe scoffed and rolled with her eyes in cynicism. "The main thing is that your cam survived, but yeah, he didn't get that far."

Max gave her a small push. "You know how I mean it! Anyway, the cop who was here told me that you gave him a nice kick in the butt."

"More into his balls. Stupid motherfucker! Hope he'll rot in jail, 'cause nobody hurts my Max!"

The shutter of the cam clicked a few times as Max took some more photos of the scenery. Seeing her girlfriend like this, in deep concentration over her photography, painted another smile on the strawberry-blonde's face.

' _I'm so glad that she's back in action. She's gonna be okay. WE are gonna be okay! Wounds will heal, scars will fade and, someday, a cool tattoo and fond memories will hide them._ '

"So, got any resolutions for the upcoming new year?" Max kept on asking nonchalantly, still looking through the viewfinder.

This question let Chloe snicker. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"Just nosy, as always." the brunette responded with a shrug.

"So typical! But, yeah, a shitload of 'em."

"Me, too. Wanna start?"

"Competition?"

"More like a compilation."

"Okay…uhm…less drama, got enough of this shit for the next five years." Chloe began.

"Gotcha there. How about less Visions? They creep the shit out of me."

"Yup, definitely, and in that wake, less crying. I hate puffy eyes and those fucked up headaches!"

Max took a hold on Chloe's hand and entwined their fingers "Less worries about you!"

Another scoff escaped Chloe's mouth. She gave her girlfriend's hand a soft and reassuring squeeze. "Less opportunities for me to die, and since we're at a hospital roof…"

Both girls looked at each other with wry smiles. "Less injuries!" they spoke in unison and laughed.

"You read my mind there, girl! But what about things that we want to have more of?"

"Oh, that's easy. I want more Chloe!" Max spoke, wrapped her arm around Chloe's hip and pulled her closer to hug her belly. She cuddled her head as close as possible into her girlfriend's stomach and inhaled deeply. "Gosh, can't wait to move back to Arcadia Bay and spend each and every day with you!"

Chloe brushed with her hands over Max's beanie-covered head. Although her body was covered in a lot of different layers of clothing to keep the coldness away, it felt like Max's head was lying on her bare skin. What her girlfriend had just said, was something that was swirling inside of her head for weeks now. Chloe wished for nothing more than to see her most beloved person every day and want to spend every possible moment with her. "I want that, too, Maxi. I want that, too." Then she sighed. "I wish you'd come back with me right away."

"Yeah, that'd be cool, but…my mom needs me. I don't wanna leave things behind like they're right now."

"I know and…I understand, really. As your dad said, good things need some time, and I can wait these few months, though it's gonna be hard."

"Thanks, Chlo!"

"Hey girls! Did I miss something?" nurse Stephanie's voice chimed from behind. She now wore a thick jacked over her uniform and had three bottles in her hands.

"Nah, just the usual cuddling stuff."

"You two are so cute!" the blonde nurse sighed and then glanced at her wristwatch. "Okay, girls, one minute remaining!"

"Hey Steph, can I stand up?" Max asked Stephanie with a slight smile.

"Theoretically…yes, but are you sure that…"

"I-I'll hold on to Chloe."

Chloe gave the nurse an asking glimpse, which was answered with a nod. Then she helped up her girlfriend and both stood there, arms wrapped around each other. "You okay?"

"Mh-hm! Way better than sitting in this stupid chair!" Max replied and rested her head on Chloe's shoulder.

"Sadly, our vending machines don't have any drinking glasses, so these bottles need to do." The straw-blonde woman said and handed each girl on the three bottles.

"No Champaign?!" Chloe blurted out as she read the label, making the nurse furrow her eyebrows, while Max gave her a slight push.

"Dude, firstly, we broke at least a dozen rules with this little shindig here, and I don't wanna add underage drinking to it. Secondly, they don't serve alcohol in a hospital. Got it?"

"Yeah, sorry!"

"Okay, get ready girls!"

With these words, all three of them, opened their bottles and counted down the last 10 seconds in unison.

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The night sky was instantly enlightened by a hundred colorful explosions as the fireworks began.

Originally, Max had planned to take a lot if pictures of this moment, but as she watched all those colors on the horizon and enjoyed the closeness to her beloved Chloe, she decided to just enjoy the view. Despite everything that could've gone wrong; despite all the obstacles they had to overcome, they both stayed strong. They survived and moved on. A single tear rolled down her freckled cheek as the small girl recalled these last months and how they changed her and Chloe; how they brought them closer together. And she knew one thing; nothing will ever bring them apart. They were meant to be together!

Max's voice was merely a whisper and drowned by the exploding fireworks, but as Chloe pressed her closer, Max knew that she'd understood her words.

"Forever and Ever!"

* * *

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed this story so far. Sadly, I can't say when I will publish the next one. Hopefully it won't take me too long...**

 **At this point I also wanna thank everyone who read my story, but especially those who left a review! They really motivated me a lot and gave me some input, thanks again!**

 **So far. See ya!**

 **P.S.: I'm also about to work on a new story, but I have two ideas and need some help to make a decision. Here are some brief catchwords:**

 **\- First idea: Max & Chloe, Sci-fi, action, lots of powers**

 **\- Second idea: Max & Brooke, crime, action, no powers**

 **Just write your suggestion in your review or PM me. Thanks for your help!**


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